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When Toronto's Ward Boundary Review (WBR) began in 2013, the city's 44 wards varied widely in size, ranging from 45,000 to 90,000 residents. This paper sets out the contested legal terrain within which the City of Toronto’s WBR took place and assesses possible next steps, including the grounds for a possible Ontario Municipal Board appeal.
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Can debt financing be “green”? On June 21, IMFG post-doctoral fellow Gustavo Carvalho presented on climate financing in Ontario cities, looking at financial instruments and strategies that have been successfully implemented elsewhere, with a focus on green bonds, environmental impact bonds, and green banks.
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Financial investments are an important part of the fiscal tools available to Canadian municipalities. A well-executed investment strategy can provide a source of income to municipalities, helping them prepare for future budgetary pressures and revenue fluctuations. This paper describes how the current municipal investment regime in Ontario works and its future direction and challenges.
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The Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance (IMFG) at the University of Toronto and the Institute without Boundaries (IwB) at George Brown College have worked together on a data visualization pilot project that brings municipal finance data to life. Leveraging the municipal finance expertise of IMFG and the design experience of the IwB and School of Design at George Brown College, this collaborative project is intended to highlight key issues in Ontario’s municipal finance and illuminate them in compelling and accessible ways.
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By most accounts, inter-local contracting and service sharing is increasing. This presentation considers a number of questions related to accountability and transparency in these types of local servicing arrangements.
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This presentation discusses the experiences with shared services and collaboration of six municipalities in York Region: Aurora, East Gwillimbury, Georgina, King, Newmarket, and Whitchurch-Stouffville.
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This presentation explores what kinds of intergovernmental relationships exist between local and Indigenous governments in Canada, and what explains the emergence and character of those relationships.
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The often hidden, but very important, relationship between the municipal council and the public service is a key determinant of the success of any municipality. This paper offers some suggestions for positive ways in which the CAO model can develop and warns of some clouds on the horizon that could harm the Canadian municipal government system.
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