Quebec benefits from unusually low interest rates in financing its debt, making this heavy burden manageable, at least for the time being. But what will happen when borrowing costs rise? Lenka Martinek, chief strategist of Daily Insights at BCA Research estimates that a 2% increase in interest rates would require $1.3 billion in additional spending on debt service in 2018. And this scenario does not take account of a potential recession.

The tax burden in Quebec.

The deficit situation in Canadian provinces.

Deficit reduction in the US.

US Federal Reserve's policies.

Will we succeed in stopping the decline of small bookstores by limiting the discounts offered to Quebec readers by big stores? What consequences would such a policy entail? We can glean some answers to these questions from both the history of the book and the economic literature. Examples of fixed book price laws elsewhere in the world also allow us to draw precious lessons in order to avoid repeating the errors of the past.

The U.S. fiscal problem

Natives' rights in Canada.

The Harper government's economic policies.

The concept of fixed book price agreement.