It seems to be fate that the right-wing crazies in Canada search me out to send propaganda. The most recent e-mail from the so-called Montreal Economic Institute is a case in point. I might as well think of it as the Montreal office of the Fraser Institute. They only seem to send out opinions that would please members of the Peoples’ Party of Canada.
While the research is credited to the Ipsos research organization, research experts can tell you that it is how you ask the questions that helps determine the answers. For example, the first result reported by the institute is that ‘two out of three Canadians think the amount they pay in income taxes is too high.’
Well, surprise, surprise. If someone asked you if you think the amount you pay in income taxes is too high? Wouldn’t you agree?
But if the questioner gave you a long list of expenses such as Medicare, the military, medical research, federal courts, port facilities, icebreakers and airports, would you maybe think that those expenditures are necessary? You might make a very small contribution to those expenses, yet you can be proud of that contribution.
It is the same for the second item trumpeted by the institute. They say that ‘fewer than one in four Canadians believe that the federal government spends on the right priorities.’ That is a stupid question deserving of a stupid answer. No doubt many of us have different opinions on spending priorities. How many times have you told your member of parliament what your priorities might be?
What the federal government spends each year is a very thick book. Have you ever studied the public accounts from Ottawa?
And that leads us to the third concern of the Montreal Economic Institute. It makes you wonder if these people have the slightest awareness of economics. They pick up the leader of the conservative party Pierre Poilievre’s line about government spending having caused Canada’s inflation. All he does is show his ignorance when he says that. The current inflation is a worldwide phenomenon contributed to by the medical costs of the pandemic, the disruption of world distribution systems, the ongoing war in Ukraine and the greed of industries such as the oil industry and grocery chains.
This so-called economic institute tells us that their research tells them that ‘six in ten Canadians are dissatisfied with the accountability and transparency of the federal government’s spending.’ Have six in ten Canadians bothered to verify this?
Maybe this institute should volunteer to write Mr. Poilievre’s speeches. They certainly seem to deal off the bottom of the same deck.
-30-
Copyright 2023 © Peter Lowry
Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to: