The Canadian softwood lumber dispute with the United States, which has been dragging on now for some forty years, is long overdue for a resolution.
Les dirigeants politiques américains doivent prendre acte de la situation et éliminer les tarifs douaniers sur la ressource, qui pèsent lourdement sur la population.
The Canada-US softwood lumber dispute that has lasted some forty years is good for neither country, MEI researchers conclude in this publication. The drop in Canadian production has direct consequences on this country’s forestry industry, and is not offset by the increased production south of the border, which leads to a net loss in the volume of wood available in the American market. This artificially induced greater scarcity of wood leads to higher costs for consumers.
Faced with this serious situation that weighs heavily on all Canadians, measures must be adopted to pull inflation back down.
On November 22 last year, the federal government introduced Bill C‑11, the Online Streaming Act, in the House of Commons. Its goal is to allow the CRTC to regulate online streaming services. The Netflixes and Disneys of the world, as well as platforms like Spotify and YouTube, are targeted by the bill. It will potentially cover almost all audio and audiovisual content accessible online in Canada. This MEI publication warns against the possible economic, cultural, and legal consequences of this bill.
June 7, 2022 | 7 min. 47 sec. | Radio X Le Midi (Radio X) Interview (in French) with Gabriel Giguère, Public […]
La vente de spiritueux sur les sites de microdistilleries permettrait aux petits entrepreneurs d’offrir leur produit sans faire les frais d’une hausse de prix injustifiée par le gouvernement.
Moving to a free market for currently supply-managed goods would reduce Canadian grocery bills, offer more choices to consumers, and improve trade relations.
Dans une lettre d’opinion publiée mardi, deux étudiants en économie se portent à la défense du statu quo gouvernemental, à savoir que celui-ci ne doit pas venir en aide aux familles québécoises.
The objective of reducing plastic waste in the environment must be pursued, but the solution has to come from entrepreneurs, not from a restrictive policy banning certain products.
May 12, 2022 | 11 min. 53 sec. | Richard Martineau (QUB Radio) Interview (in French) with Gabriel Giguère, Public Policy Analyst […]
Tout semble indiquer que le gouvernement fédéral ira de l’avant avec l’interdiction de certains produits en plastique à usage unique, ce qui serait une erreur de sa part.
This MEI publication found that the federal government’s “zero plastic waste” policy puts it in opposition to current and potential innovations that are coming out of the plastics industry. The policy will hurt the economy without any guarantee of helping the environment.
Le caractère archaïque de la situation québécoise ne laisse aucun doute quant à la nécessité d’emboîter le pas à l’Ontario et de cesser d’interdire les sites de jeux en ligne privés.
Dans un sondage commandé par l’IEDM et paru la semaine dernière, la firme Ipsos, réputée pour son sérieux, a constaté que le projet GNL Québec balayé du revers par les gouvernements provincial et fédéral trouve un appui de plus de la majorité de la population.
April 26, 2022 | 13 min. 25 sec. | Midi Pile (95 KYK) Interview (in French) with Gabriel Giguère, Public Policy Analyst […]
Economic nationalism unfortunately seems to be in vogue south of the border, and the latest Buy American provisions may have serious repercussions for Canadian manufacturers.
Amazon figure aujourd’hui parmi les plateformes transactionnelles préférées des Québécois. Le ministre de l’Économie du Québec se dit inquiet et compte concurrencer cette plateforme avec Le Panier Bleu.
The rising cost of living has pushed the central bank to act, and it has acted wisely, raising the policy interest rate. Now the federal government has to act.
The federal government loosens the purse strings with such ease that there is good reason to worry about the national debt—already gargantuan—of over $1.262 trillion.
La transition énergétique est nécessaire — et souhaitable —, et le Québec a le potentiel indubitable d’y contribuer grâce à ses réserves en gaz naturel.
We learned on March 29 that the federal government is preparing to table a piece of legislation to force Web giants to sign agreements that would require them to pay out sums of money to the media whose news stories they relay.
The Bay du Nord project, sometimes characterized as a megaproject, would allow from 300 million to one billion barrels to be recovered.
Devant l’incertitude énergétique qui plane sur ces pays, le Québec a un rôle à jouer dans l’approvisionnement de ressources naturelles à faible émission de CO2 avec ses réserves colossales de gaz naturel.
According to the authors of this publication, the Quebec government’s tabling of Bill 21 aiming to ban the exploration and production of hydrocarbons will hurt the province’s economic development potential and undermine its role in reducing global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
March 16, 2022 | 7 min. 17 sec. | Les matins d’ici (Ici Radio-Canada) Interview (in French) with Gabriel Giguère, Public Policy […]
March 14, 2022 | 13 min. 05 sec. | Midi Pile (KYK Radio) Interview (in French) with Gabriel Giguère, Public Policy Analyst […]
On apprenait récemment que les géants de la bière réclament la mise en place d’une réglementation du prix plancher afin de lutter « à armes égales » contre leurs concurrents.
What good are lower prices if we can’t have a smooth call on Zoom or watch a film in HD?
March 3, 2022 | 14 min. 32 sec. | Droit Devant (106,9 FM) Interview (in French) with Gabriel Giguère, Public Policy Analyst […]
March 3, 2022 | 19 min. 33 sec. | Trudeau-Landry (FM93) Interview (in French) with Gabriel Giguère, Public Policy Analyst at the […]
According to the authors of this Economic Note, it is time for the CRTC to re-examine its regulatory framework and to gradually dismantle its wholesale pricing regime and put its trust in entrepreneurs. Instead of another about face on wholesale pricing, the authorities should stop overregulating the sector, and transition to a framework based on real, dynamic, facilities-based competition.
Pour que la population continue à disposer de services Internet performants et fiables, les autorités doivent arrêter de jouer avec ces prix et laisser les entrepreneurs innover et investir dans les réseaux du futur.
We learned last week that a new public “investment” of $380 million will be made in Bombardier’s former C Series.
The economic situation in recent years has pushed construction project costs up considerably. While this is true across the country, the regulatory framework governing the construction industry in Ontario poses additional challenges that further raise costs. After analyzing the application (or not) of Bill 66 by the cities Hamilton, Toronto, and the region of Waterloo, MEI researchers concluded that this bill has some blind spots, and that maintaining the status quo will have major repercussions not only on the province’s construction industry, but also on Ontario taxpayers.
Last week, Quebec Treasury Board chair Sonia LeBel presented Bill 12, whose purpose is to force public organizations to buy from Quebec companies.
La semaine dernière, nous apprenions que le gouvernement de Justin Trudeau a atteint son objectif de voir les tarifs cellulaires baisser de 25 % sur les forfaits milieu de gamme (2 Go à 6 Go). Il y a deux explications possibles.
Early this week, the US Department of Commerce indicated its intention to reduce tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber. While this is at least some good news for our lumber exporters, the tariffs remain.
February 2, 2022 | 14 min. 11 sec. | Midi Pile (95.7 KYK) Interview (in French) with Gabriel Giguère, Public Policy Analyst […]
This week, Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez declared that a bill forcing the GAFA companies to pay for news content had become his “top priority.”
Quebec workers deserve better than temporary and ill-advised aid that will hurt our entrepreneurs who are struggling just to keep their heads above water.
Vendredi dernier, nous apprenions que le salaire minimum au Québec passera de 13,50 $ à 14,25 $. Il s’agit d’une croissance fort décevante pour les organisations qui, comme la FTQ d’ailleurs, revendiquent plutôt une hausse draconienne à 18 $/h.
Following Minister Jean Boulet’s announcement that the minimum wage in Quebec will go from $13.50 to $14.25 an hour, certain community groups and unions suggested that this was a missed opportunity to raise it to $18 an hour. The authors of this publication conclude that even though a hike to $18 an hour may seem beneficial for low-income workers, this steep 33% increase would have negative consequences on the financial health of a range of companies in the retail, food services, and accommodation sectors. They even maintain that many workers in these sectors could lose their jobs.
After having sunk $52 million of taxpayer funds into a company sheltered from its creditors, namely BlackRock Metals, Quebec’s CAQ government says it is ready to inject even more millions of public dollars to acquire a part of the company.
Cent ans plus tard, les Québécois sont mûrs pour choisir la bannière qu’ils désirent encourager lors de l’achat d’alcool.
Late last month, we learned that the US government had decided to double the duty on Canadian softwood lumber to a combined rate of 17.9% for most producers.
The government needs to address the structural deficit in order to reduce the debt burden, for the sake of our children, and their children. It’s a question of intergenerational equity.
Le gouvernement doit s’attaquer au déficit structurel de manière à alléger le fardeau de la dette pour les prochaines générations. Il en va de l’équité intergénérationnelle.
La CAQ compte faciliter l’agriculture à petite échelle et l’émergence des nouveaux modèles d’affaires dans ce secteur habituellement plus traditionnel.
The rising prices of agricultural lands and the difficulties these pose to the next generation of farmers are a recurring topic in Quebec news media. Taking note of the situation, the Quebec government has tabled Bill 103.
