Eco-fiscal Tools and Municipal Finance: New Practices and Opportunities
May 22 @ 4:30 pm - 5:30 pm
Many municipalities in Canada use eco-fiscal tools, which are not necessarily major revenue-generators but help communicate important environmental goals to the public. Eco-fiscal tools are tax measures that use market price signals to encourage positive economic activity such as job creation, investment, and innovation, while reducing unwanted activities like greenhouse gas emissions and pollution. Examples of eco-fiscal tools include fuel taxes, stormwater fees, congestion charges, and parking levies. In this presentation, IMFG Visiting Scholar Jean-Philippe Meloche and his co-author, Fanny Tremblay-Racicot, provide an overview of how eco-fiscal tools are used in Canadian cities, discuss their impact, and set out some potential municipal eco-fiscal strategies.
Speakers:
Jean-Philippe Meloche is a Full Professor at the School of Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture at Université de Montréal. He is also principal researcher for territorial issues at the Center for Interuniversity Research and Analysis of Organizations (CIRANO). He teaches urban economics, local public finance, and transport planning. His main research focus is local public finance issues. He has published many papers in national and international journals and has worked with several municipalities, mainly in the Montreal metropolitan area, and with many ministries of Quebec government on these issues.
Fanny Tremblay-Racicot is an Associate Professor in Municipal and Regional Administration at the Graduate School of Public Administration (ENAP), and Co Director of the Center for Research on Governance (CERGO). She is the author of numerous publications on transportation governance and regional planning. Her current research focuses on territorial policies for the circular economy, the affordability of transit-oriented developments, and the use of fiscal powers by Quebec and Canadian municipalities. She collaborates with municipalities, municipal associations, and government organizations on diversifying municipal revenues and implementing eco-fiscal measures.
Moderator:
Benjamin Dachis is Clean Prosperity’s Vice President of Research and Outreach. His career in public policy research, practice, and leadership spans nearly two decades. Trained as an economist, Benjamin has worked across a broad range of Canadian policy sectors. Prior to joining Clean Prosperity, Benjamin spent 15 years with the C.D. Howe Institute in a number of policy research and leadership roles, ultimately serving as the Institute’s Associate Vice President, Public Affairs. From 2018 to 2019, he was the Director of Policy, Budget and Fiscal Planning for the Premier of Ontario. He was part of the Ontario government’s leadership team in developing a number of policies, including the Housing Supply Action Plan, the 2018 Fall Economic Statement, and the 2019 Budget. He has an Honours Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Toronto, and a Master of Science in Regional Science from the London School of Economics and Political Science.