Bill Robson on Bloomberg: C.D. Howe on Budget: Transfers to Provinces Is “A Bottomless Pit”
Bill Robson, President & CEO of C.D. Howe Institute joins Bloomberg TV Canada’s Lily Jamali to discuss his recommendations to the federal government ahead of the 2017 budget.
Getting Real: A Shadow Federal Budget for 2017
Ottawa should set out a path back toward balance to inspire confidence among savers and investors, says the C.D. Howe Institute’s annual Shadow Federal Budget. In “Getting Real: A Shadow Federal Budget for 2017,” authors William B. P. Robson, Alexandre Laurin and Rosalie Wyonch show how the federal government can cut the deficit while boosting […] Hidden Spending: The Fiscal Impact of Federal Tax Concessions
More than $16 billion of annual “tax expenditures” never show up on the federal government’s books, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Hidden Spending: The Fiscal Impact of Federal Tax Concessions,” authors William B. P. Robson and Alexandre Laurin tally transfers delivered through the tax system that Ottawa should report […] Toronto’s Economy Will Pay The Toll For Wynne’s ‘No’: Globe And Mail Op-ed
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne announced on Friday that she will not allow the City of Toronto to proceed with road tolls. I’ll leave the politics of this decision to others, but the economic consequences of the decision will be more congestion and myriad problems for cities reliant on unsustainable provincial grants.
How did we get here? About a decade ago, the province granted the City of Toronto – and only Toronto – the power to levy tolls on roads it operates, among other new tax powers. There was a catch, however: The province retained the final say by having to pass a regulation allowing such a road toll. In December, Toronto City Council voted in favour of asking the province to allow Toronto to place…
Dachis and Robson – Municipal Fiscal Accountability in Toronto
From: Benjamin Dachis and William B.P. Robson To: Toronto City Council Date: December 22, 2016 Re: Municipal Fiscal Accountability in Toronto It’s budget season again here in Toronto. With all this attention on municipal finances, you might think such questions as “How much does Toronto plan to spend this year compared to last year?” or […]Dachis and Tsao – Promoting Affordable Housing Act (Bill 7)
From: Benjamin Dachis and Jennifer Y. Tsao To: Ontario’s Standing Committee on Social Policy Date: December 5, 2016 Re: Promoting Affordable Housing Act (Bill 7) This week, the provincial government will consider the Promoting Affordable Housing Act to promote affordable housing. Municipal politicians might like the plan, but it will be costly for home buyers […]Zachary Spicer – The Dreadful Conditions of Municipal Budgets
From: Zachary Spicer To: City Councils Across Canada Date: November 30, 2016 Re: The Dreadful Conditions of Municipal Budgets In their recent report, Two Sets of Books at City Hall? Grading the Finance Reports of Canada’s Cities, Benjamin Dachis, William B.P. Robson and Jennifer Y. Tsao argue that many of the annual budgets in Canada’s cities […]Two Sets of Books at City Hall? Grading the Financial Reports of Canada’s Cities
Annual budgets in most of Canada’s major cities are a mess – excluding key activities, using inconsistent accounting, burying crucial numbers where only experts can find them, and often voted well after the fiscal year has started, according the 2016 edition of the C.D. Howe Institute’s Municipal Fiscal Accountability report. In “Two Sets of Books […] Trevor Tombe – Five Ways to a Better Diversification Debate in Alberta
From: Trevor Tombe To: Hon. Deron Bilous, Alberta Minister of Economic Development and Trade Date: October 25, 2016 Re: Five Ways to a Better Diversification Debate in Alberta Alberta’s economy has seen better days. To many, the cause is clear: we’re over-reliant on oil and gas. Faced with this broad sentiment, the government is exploring […]Forced Co-operation Recipe for Bad Blood Among Alberta Municipalities: Edmonton Journal Op-Ed
Last May, the provincial government took steps to modernize Alberta’s Municipal Government Act.
One of the major changes was a call for forced inter-municipal cooperation, where arbitration would bind municipalities through shotgun marriages with the goal of squeezing out efficiencies in service production. Forced cooperation of this nature, however, has been shown to be harmful elsewhere in Canada.
The provincial government should instead look towards a more flexible model for enhancing inter-municipal cooperation, such as British Columbia’s regional districts.
Inter-municipal cooperation can be an effective means of providing services while not sacrificing economies of scale and scope. Municipalities may…
Zachary Spicer – Inter-Municipal Cooperation, Not Amalgamation, the Better Way Forward for Canadian Cities
From: Zachary Spicer To: Ministers of Municipal Affairs across Canada Date: October 13, 2016 Re: Inter-Municipal Cooperation, Not Amalgamation, the Better Route to Improve Servicing in Canada’s Cities Over the past 50 years, provincial governments in Canada have looked toward building bigger municipal governments in the face of local servicing challenges. Externalities and inefficiencies are […]Thinking Regionally: How to Improve Service Delivery in Canada’s Cities
For cities across Canada, amalgamation has produced few economies of scale and greatly undermined local autonomy, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Thinking Regionally: How to Improve Service Delivery in Canada’s Cities,” authors Zachary Spicer and Adam Found provide a blueprint for better service delivery in city-regions faced by expanding […]