MONTREAL, May 31, 2016 – The public consultations on plain packaging announced by Health Minister Jane Philpott should focus on the factual evidence regarding the effectiveness of such a regulation on smoking rates. So far, the numerous studies of its effectiveness are inconclusive.

Montreal, May 26, 2016 – With a lot of ink still being spilled over the issue of corruption in Quebec, an MEI Viewpoint published today proposes some solutions for reducing corruption in the awarding of public contracts. Economic research shows that size of government goes hand in hand with corruption. “This is because regulation creates incentives for a company to try to influence the decisions of government officials in order to obtain benefits and privileges from them, like the awarding of a contract or exemption from certain costs, allowing it to circumvent regulation, for example,” explains Mathieu Bédard, Economist at the MEI and author of the publication.

Montreal, May 19, 2016 – Tel que rapporté par les médias hier, l’Hôpital général juif a enregistré l’an dernier un volume record de patients traités aux urgences, sans toutefois obtenir de financement additionnel. L’IEDM tient à rappeler que pour améliorer la qualité des services, il faut nécessairement changer le mode de financement des établissements de santé.

Montreal, May 13, 2016 – The presence of food trucks in Montreal since 2013 is a positive step toward greater entrepreneurship at the municipal level, but the potential benefits to both consumers and workers are being undermined by heavy regulation, shows a Viewpoint published today by the MEI.

Montreal, May 12, 2016 – Le ministre des Transports, Jacques Daoust, vient de déposer un projet de loi qui abandonne les milliers de Québécois utilisant les services d’Uber. Pour préserver une réglementation archaïque et éliminer la concurrence, le gouvernement tente d’imposer l’achat de permis aux services de covoiturage commercial à partir d’applications.

Montreal, May 9, 2016 – The recent decision handed down by a New Brunswick judge on the interprovincial alcohol trade could prove to be a victory for consumers by challenging the control exerted by government monopolies like the SAQ in Quebec. It also places additional pressure on the provinces to bring down the barriers to trade that exist between them.

This ruling, handed down on April 29, states that no province has the right to prevent people from transporting or ordering a good purchased in another province.

Montreal, May 5, 2016 – The federal government and the CRTC should not repeat the mistakes of recent years by intervening in the broadband sector as they have in the wireless sector, argues the MEI in the 2016 edition of The State of Competition in Canada’s Telecommunications Industry, a Research Paper published today. The Paper notes that 96% of Canadian households already had access to download speeds of 5 Mbps in 2014, with 77% of households subscribing to such a service, a trend that has shown strong growth in recent years.

Montreal, April 29, 2016 – La fête des travailleurs est assombrie cette année par l’intention du gouvernement fédéral d’éliminer la transparence des syndicats et le vote secret pour l’obtention d’une accréditation syndicale. Cela représente un recul pour les travailleurs et pour la démocratie syndicale, selon les travaux réalisés à l'IEDM par le passé.

Montreal, April 27, 2016 – En annonçant l'implantation de 50 « supercliniques » de médecins au Québec d’ici la fin 2018, le gouvernement continue d'imposer des solutions bureaucratiques centralisées plutôt que de laisser une chance aux solutions innovantes qui émergent d’elles-mêmes dans le domaine de la santé.

Montreal, April 18, 2016 – After having been broadcast in the United States and Canada on PBS affiliates, the second season of the Free Markets Series is now available online for the entire Internet community. As of today, four new 30-minute episodes can be found on the dedicated series web library, and on social media networks as well.