In February 2004, the MEI published an Economic Note on tuition fees and their effects on access to university studies. Since then, the Quebec government announced that fees would rise cumulatively by $50 per semester from 2007 to 2012. It is still not known what policy will be adopted after 2012. To this day, Quebec tuition fees are still lower than their 1994-1995 level in real terms. This Economic Note is an update which aims to examine the university tuition fee situation in Quebec.

The pension plan crisis caused by the aging of the population is affecting all western countries, with Quebec especially hard hit by this phenomenon. The long-term financing of the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) is a cause of concern, and experts say changes are needed to ensure its viability. As in the past, a new rise in contributions is being suggested to balance the program’s reserve. Other countries have had to reform their public pension systems in recent decades. One of them – Chile – has stood out because of its success and has inspired about 30 other governments. Can Quebec also learn something from their experience?

Quebec construction workers suffer from one sizable obstacle in comparison to their colleagues in the other provinces: a lack of flexibility that originates in the legislation governing the construction industry. Without this obstacle, Quebec construction workers could raise their productivity, enabling the government and Quebec taxpayers to save on the costs of building various facilities, especially infra structure.

After recording a current deficit of $4.5 billion in 2009-2010, the Quebec government has just announced a series of measures intended to restore public finances. At the heart of its concerns is the government's growing debt. Some people feel it has reached an alarming level, whereas others are minimizing the scope of the Quebec debt. Who is right?

This special document is Chapter 26 of the book Margaret Thatcher: A Portrait of the Iron Lady distributed in connection with the fifth edition of the Jean A. Pouliot Lecture Series. The book’s author, John Blundell, has been described by Mrs. Thatcher herself as one of the most effective champions of the free-enterprise economic model. The Montreal Economic Institute has offered Mr. Blundell its platform to address a Montreal audience and share his views on the former British prime minister’s work and heritage.

The Quebec government is currently in negotiations with the public sector unions over new collective agreements for 550,000 public employees. More than 40 years after job security was instituted in the civil service and in the health care, social service and education networks, there is good reason to look into ways of improving the productivity of government employees. With a budget coming up, and with many observers predicting tax and fee increases, taxpayers are entitled to value for their money.

Supplemental pension plans provided by employers are a key fringe benefit to bear in mind when looking at overall compensation. In the private sector, pension plans have been going through a financing crisis in recent years. In the Quebec public sector, on the other hand, the government’s ability to pay is not at issue, and pension plans remain very generous. With negotiations under way between the government and the “Common Front” of public sector unions, there is reason to look into this matter and to ask if public sector pension plans are too generous compared to those in the private sector, taking account of taxpayers’ ability to pay.

The movement promoting the purchase of locally produced food has grown in influence in recent years, in Quebec as in the rest of the world. Beyond the traditional economic arguments based on a protectionist approach, it is the environmental aspect which seems nowadays to motivate the support of groups and citizens in favour of reducing “food miles.” It is argued that by discouraging consumers from buying food transported from distant locations, less energy – and ultimately less greenhouse gas – is being expanded, thus contributing to the fight against environmental degradation.

It is easy and tempting for politicians to let deficits soar and to dig more deeply into public debt. No country can escape this. In France, the proposed government deficit for 2010 is equal to more than one-third of gross tax revenues. The Moody’s rating agency says world sovereign debt is likely to go from 63% of world GDP in 2008 to 80% in 2010. It is essential to think twice before yielding to this easy "game." This game is dangerous. Unless public debt is brought under control, governments run the risk of leading their countries into bankruptcy.

Executive compensation has become a controversial issue in recent years. Cases of CEOs leaving office with large sums of money while the companies they led were in financial difficulties are regularly covered by the media and presented as proof that there is a problem. More recently, the economic crisis and government rescue of failing firms with public funds has justified imposing caps to executive pay. An internal managerial decision which traditionally was of relevance only to the administrators and shareholders of a given company is now being debated as a policy of interest to the general public. Is there a problem with the way executive compensation is determined?