Author Archives: Richard Shearmur

Pendant l’urgence COVID, les chiffres de migration ont fait la une des journaux. Pendant les périodes 2019-20 et 2020-21 Montréal a connu des départs nets élevé, et l’on a aussi constaté un certain afflux de population vers des régions éloignées du Québec. Cela dit, la grande majorité des départs de Montréal a été vers lesContinue reading “Exode urbain au Québec?”

There is growing consternation in Canada as the extent of major consultants’ involvement in federal policy-making is revealed. Firms such as McKinsey seem to have taken over the public service. This is symptomatic of wider changes that have been described by Michael Power as rituals of verification, i.e. an audit culture that feeds upon itself,Continue reading “Rituals of verification: consultants, second-rate evidence, and policy”

Chat GPT – impressive but limited Chat GPT is a very impressive piece of technology. It seems to excel at rapidly compiling the information available on Wikipedia (and other web sites), producing coherent summaries. It also writes full sentences and is able to mimic styles. Of course, as a professor I am happy if myContinue reading “Chat GPT: the true idiot savant?”

Un article récent de La Presse a dressé une liste assez triste d’exemples de refus de permis de construire pour des projets apparemment bénéfiques socialement ou environnementalement – logements étudiants, logements au centre-ville… J’ai suggéré dans une petite note sur LinkedIn que “Les urbanistes, ainsi que leurs interprétations des règlements, [pourraient empêcher] la construction deContinue reading “Quel rôle jouent les urbanistes?”

I have just spent the afternoon at a fascinating event organised by Montreal’s downtown SDC (the Société de Développement Commercial, somewhat similar to a Business Improvement District). It consisted of three panels and a couple of presentations about the role data – particular big-data – could play in downtown’s revival. Can data really revive downtown?Continue reading “Big data and downtown revival: when is the microphone too close to the speaker?”

Last week Québec’s automobile insurance agency, the SAAQ, introduced a new rule: henceforth, any person diagnosed with neuro-cognitive impairement will have their driving license revoked. This will have a major impact – especially on elderly people, many of whom are, understandably, concerned about this threat. I have just listened to an insightful interview in whichContinue reading “Québec’s new driving rules, the elderly, and urban planning”

Immigration and housing In late October 2022, the federal government announced plans to welcome 500 000 immigrants a year to Canada over the coming years. There are many good reasons for doing so: Canada’s population is aging, there is a labour shortage, and people from across the world are facing climate and political disruption partlyContinue reading “Immigration, housing, and the financial politics of housing”

As I finished reading David Graeber’s book ‘Debt’ this morning, I heard that the Nobel prize in economics has been awarded to three economists. Their contribution to economics seems to be this: “If you want to stabilize the financial system, and ensure that it continues as it is, you must support banks in times ofContinue reading “Nobel prize winners in economics say: “Support our banks!””

The Bank of Canada, and other central banks, are ‘aggressively raising interest rates’, ostensibly to stifle inflation. For the same reason, the Bank of Canada’s Governor, Tiff Maklen, recently said that employers should resist labour and supply contracts based on high inflation expectations: i.e. employers shouldn’t raise wages, nor pay their suppliers, in line withContinue reading ““Keep wage increases below inflation.” The politics of central banks”

As organizations sort out new workplace arrangements – hybrid?; all-office? all-remote? – an interesting sub-genre of article has appeared about ‘proximity bias’. Proximity bias is defined as follows: An unconscious tendency to favor the people we’re physically closer to. In flexible working environments, proximity bias heightens the risk that in-office workers will receive preferential treatmentContinue reading “Back to the office: is proximity bias actually a bias?”