Shining Sunlight on the Cities – Municipal Accountability in Canada
From transit, to garbage collection, to policing, it is easy to recognize the infrastructure and services provided by municipal governments. Sadly, the finances that support these programs are not so easy to see. Join our panel as they discuss the C.D. Howe Institute’s latest report card on municipal spending, and its implications for good governance.
William B. P. Robson, President and Chief Executive Officer, C.D. Howe Institute
Bill Robson took office as President and CEO of the C.D. Howe Institute in July 2006, after serving as the Institute’s Senior Vice President since 2003 and Director of Research since 2000. He has written more than 200 monographs, articles, chapters and books on such subjects as government budgets, pensions, healthcare financing, inflation and currency issues. His work has won awards from the Policy Research Secretariat, the Canadian Economics Association, and the Donner Canadian Foundation. He is a Senior Fellow at Massey College, holds an ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors, and is a member of the Big Picture Panel on the CBC’s The Exchange. Bill taught public finance and public policy at the University of Toronto from 2000 to 2003, and currently teaches a Master’s level course in public finance at the University of Toronto’s School of Public Policy and Governance.
Jim McCarter, former Auditor General to Ontario.
Jim McCarter served as Ontario's 12th Auditor General from October 2003 to April 2013.
During his tenure, Jim issued 10 annual reports, along with 13 special reports and reviews on a diverse range of high-profile issues that included assessing the cost of cancelling the partially-constructed electricity power plant in Mississauga (2013), ORNGE air ambulance service (2012), eHealth (2009), and accountability over Citizenship and Immigration year-end grants (2007).
Just as significantly, it was during Mr. McCarter's tenure that the Office took on three significant new mandates — value-for-money auditing of organizations in the broader public sector, review of government advertising, and review of the government's pre-election fiscal outlook reports.
Prior to becoming Auditor General, Mr. McCarter served almost four years as the Office’s Deputy Auditor General. From 1998 to 2000 was the Government of Ontario's first Assistant Deputy Minister / Chief Internal Auditor.
He was also Auditor General of St. Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean on behalf of the Canadian International Development Agency in 1989 and 1990.
Since retiring, Jim has undertaken several public sector related consulting engagements with the highest profile one being conducted for the City of Brampton. He was engaged by the Mayor’s office to provide an independent and objective overview of the state of Brampton’s finances and report the results of his review to City Council.
Mr. McCarter, a chartered accountant, holds an MBA degree from York University and a Certified Information Systems Auditor designation. He was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario (ICAO) in 2009.
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