"It does not make sense that taxpayers' dollars are used to finance political parties, especially the Bloc Québécois, which pushes for Quebec's separation from Canada, but that issue should be dealt with at another time.
"If both sides smartly back down, they will allow Canadians to get back to focusing on the global economic crisis and its impact on Canada."
Prof. Mintz went on to argue: "Because Canada is threatened by a major downturn %u2014 potentially more than a technical recession %u2014 we should be debating the size and the type of fiscal stimulus that is needed to make the economy grow . . .
"The government is quite right to take a little time to frame a fiscal plan, given that the economy is so far chugging along better than expected, despite the storm clouds."