Schwanen, Wyonch, Dachis – Ahead of the Curve: The Big Picture Issues for the Ontario Election
From: Daniel Schwanen, Rosalie Wyonch and Benjamin Dachis To: Ontario voters Date: May 15, 2018 Re: Ahead of the Curve: The Big Picture Issues for the Ontario Election The Ontario election campaign has barely three more weeks to run, and so far, some of the largest issues facing the province have been conspicuous by their […]Robson, Omran – Rating The Fiscal Accountability Of Canada’s Senior Governments
From: William Robson and Farah Omran To: Canada’s Finance Ministers Date: May 3, 2018 Re: Rating the Fiscal Accountability of Canada’s Senior Governments Canada’s senior governments tax and spend a lot, but don’t consistently tell us what they are doing. In our new report for the C.D. Howe Institute we grade the transparency and reliability of the federal, provincial and […] The Numbers Game: Rating the Fiscal Accountability of Canada’s Senior Governments
Canada’s senior governments tax and spend a lot, but don’t consistently tell us what they are doing, says a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “The Numbers Game: Rating the Fiscal Accountability of Canada’s Senior Governments,” authors William B.P. Robson and Farah Omran grade the transparency and reliability of the federal provincial and […] Accounting Tricks Have No Place In Ontario’s Government: Globe And Mail Op-ed
This week’s review of the Ontario government’s pre-election financial report from the provincial Auditor-General reconfirmed what The Globe and Mail reported last weekend: The government is using an accounting trick to shrink its reported deficit and debt. It is hiding the cost of borrowing to subsidize electricity prices over the next few years by inventing an “asset” – revenue from the higher prices Ontario’s electricity consumers will pay later on – to keep the borrowing from showing in the government’s bottom line.
Auditor-General Bonnie Lysyk’s review concludes that the pre-election report is not a reasonable presentation of Ontario’s finances. Her concerns deserve wide attention – not just in Ontario, but…
Why Ontario’s Planning Act Needs Major Changes: Toronto Star Op-ed
As of April 12, municipalities in Ontario will be able to implement inclusionary zoning, allowing them to require affordable housing units in residential developments. The province’s willingness to grant municipalities this authority reflects its broader commitment to modernizing Ontario’s planning regime. But one relic of this old regime remains: Section 37 of Ontario’s Planning Act. As the province continues to overhaul its planning legislation, it is time to revisit Section 37 and either repeal it or significantly amend it.
Section 37 allows municipalities to secure “benefits” from developers in return for allowing buildings to exceed height and density restrictions. As I note in a recent report for the C.D. Howe Institute,…
Buildings with Benefits: The Defect of Density Bonusing
Ontario should scrap arbitrary and opaque density bonusing deals between municipalities and developers, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In Buildings with Benefits: The Defect of Density Bonusing author Aaron Moore finds that density bonusing – a practice where developers can break zoning rules in exchange for public amenities – is […] Dachis, Kim – How contracting waste services can improve municipal services
From: Benjamin Dachis and Jacob Kim To: Toronto City Council Date: March 15, 2018 Re: How contracting waste services can improve municipal services After an unsuccessful push in early 2017 to put up for contract garbage collection in parts of eastern Toronto, it’s time to bring the idea back to the table. Toronto should put […] Adam Found and Peter Tomlinson – The Best (and Worst) Big Cities for Business Investment in Canada
To: Municipal Finance Policymakers From: Adam Found and Peter Tomlinson Date: February 2, 2018 Re: The Best (and Worst) Big Cities for Business Investment in Canada Before a business decides to locate or expand in a given jurisdiction, it must consider the tax implications. Heavy tax burdens drive investment away to other jurisdictions and, with it, the […] Henry Lotin – How Accurate Are Our Trade and Output Measures?
From: Henry Lotin To: Concerned Canadians Date: January 2, 2018 Re: How Accurate Are Our Trade and Output Measures? A recent National Bureau of Economic Research paper added to the body of evidence suggesting output and productivity measures can severely distort the picture of national contributions to the global economy. This is true of measures of trade flows as […]Dachis, Robson, Omran – Fuzzy Finances Need to End in Canada’s Municipalities
From: Benjamin Dachis, William B.P. Robson and Farah Omran To: Concerned Canadians Date: December 1, 2017 Re: Fuzzy Finances Need to End in Canada’s Municipalities Cities across Canada are embarking on their annual budget reviews. However, in nearly all large Canadian municipalities, it is far too hard for city councillors, ratepayers and voters to understand municipal budgets and to […]Fuzzy Finances: Grading the Financial Reports of Canada’s Municipalities
Canada’s major cities tend to understate revenue and spending, wait too long to release budgets, and confuse taxpayers with obscure figures in their financial reports, finds a new study from the C.D. Howe Institute. In the 2017 edition of the Institute’s annual municipal fiscal accountability report card, titled Fuzzy Finances: Grading the Financial Reports of Canada’s […]