The shale gas development debate from the point of view of landowners.

The possibility of developing shale gas in the St. Lawrence Lowlands caused quite a stir in Quebec between 2008 and 2012. In this public debate, the projects put forward for developing this resource did not pass the test of social acceptability. The voices of environmentalist groups, well-organized and omnipresent in the media, carried further than those of industry promoters. Between these two poles, there are also those who have natural gas wells on their land.

The costs of supply management in Canada.

The maple syrup monopoly in Quebec.

The benefits of ride-sharing applications.

Loto-Québec and online gaming.

US and Canadian airports competing for passenger dollars.

The numerous interventions carried out by the federal government to encourage the establishment of a 4th wireless telephony player across the country will hurt consumers by undermining innovation in this industry. This is all the more worrisome given that important technological revolutions are in the works that will require billions of dollars of investments from the country’s telecommunications companies. This is one of the conclusions of the 2015 edition of The State of Competition in Canada’s Telecommunications Industry.

Ottawa's interventions in the telecommunications sector.

Quebec is blessed in terms of the energy resources available on its territory. Most obviously, there is the province’s vast hydroelectric capacity, which produces 96% of its electricity. This month, the government made public a series of reports suggesting that it might soon be ready to move forward and allow oil development in the province. In light of this news, it is worth reconsidering some of Quebec’s energy choices to see which kinds of policies might enrich, rather than impoverish, Quebec taxpayers.