The demands on police in non-criminal areas have grown as governments have saddled officers with increasing responsibilities divorced from their core mission. With pressure coming from all sides, including recent calls to “defund the police,” this new MEI paper proposes to outsource non-core tasks to auxiliary private security agents in order to make the best use of scarce police time and public resources.

Proposals to increase taxes on the rich resurface often in the news. MEI researchers conclude in this study that, however the term “rich” is defined, this selective taxation does not pay, due to its longer-term indirect effects. By penalizing those who create wealth, this gives rise to a number of adverse effects that threaten the prosperity of all Canadians.

For over a year now, statistics have shown an unusual rise in the general price level as calculated by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The highest seen in 40 years, this increase has fuelled public debate as well as anxiety among Canadians. Researchers at the MEI believe that the actual deterioration in purchasing power is much more pronounced than the official rate would indicate, and they challenge the validity of the metrics employed by Statistics Canada which in their view do not reflect the true inflationary pressure experienced since the beginning of this year.

With students across Canada preparing to go back to school, the MEI released this study on how to improve educational outcomes. Vincent Geloso, Senior Economist at the MEI, concludes that it is an illusion to think that the quality of education will be improved merely by increasing government spending.

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.

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.

It is hard to believe that in 2022, health data is still being communicated between institutions and departments via fax in Quebec. According to this MEI publication, Quebec’s current system does not allow for an efficient flow of information that would benefit patients, and existing electronic health records lack vital information physicians need to make a proper treatment plan.

The shortcomings of health care systems across Canada have been thrown into stark relief by the pandemic, with surgery backlogs making headlines again of late. A lack of physicians and the absence of competition between private and public providers is undermining access to care. This publication proposes several ways of improving access to health care, including expanding the role of independent providers and increasing the number of doctors in Quebec. For this to happen, however, the College of Physicians and the government will have to end their intimate connection that is harming Quebecers.

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.

The inflation rate in Canada has been rising constantly for several months now. Expansionary monetary policies, as well as the economic sanctions accompanying the Russia-Ukraine war, suggest that significant inflation may be with us for the medium to long term. High inflation erodes consumers’ purchasing power, and also has a negative impact on Canadian taxpayers—including through the capital gains tax, an issue the MEI’s researchers examined in this publication.