Search Results for: Governance
Perspectives Paper | 2016
A Recipe for Fiscal Trust
Dina Graser and Pamela Robinson
Local governments need to make significant financial investments, and must raise revenues through taxes, user fees, and possibly new revenue tools. But before they can take these actions, they have to build trust to convince their residents that new revenues are needed and will be spent wisely.
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Presentation | 2016
The Boundary Bargain: Growth, Development, and the Future of City-County Separation
Zachary Spicer
This talk presents findings from a new book about the peculiarities of city-county separation. What are the dangers of having municipal institutions that are too rigid to modernize, and what does it mean for the future of regional governance in Ontario?
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IMFG Paper | 2016
Good Governance at the Local Level: Meaning and Measurement
Zack Taylor
This paper situates Canadian local governance practices within a review of international perspectives on the meaning and evaluation of governance quality. The author finds that Canadian authorities have construed local good governance largely in utilitarian terms, as the efficiency of service delivery.
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Presentation | 2016
Land Value Capture for Social Benefits: Comparing Toronto and São Paulo
Abigail Friendly
IMFG Post-Doctoral Fellow Abigail Friendly compares the use of LVC in two cities – São Paulo and Toronto – with a focus on acquiring local benefits and services such as park improvements, childcare and recreational facilities, and social housing.
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Book | 2016
The Boundary Bargain: Growth, Development, and the Future of City-County Separation
Zachary Spicer
Detailing the development of municipal institutions, the original logic behind the city-county separation, and the eventual shift in institutional and municipal organization, this book demonstrates that urban and rural areas have always had a reciprocal relationship and that both play an important role in the strength of the national economy and the broader local community. Focusing on three case studies of separated cities and their counties that still retain strict city-county separation, former IMFG Post-Doctoral Fellow Zachary Spicer reveals how this policy works, what problems it poses, and examines the best practices for addressing growth, development, and sprawl from a regional perspective.
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Presentation | 2016
Funding Democracy: Participatory Budgeting in Canada
Josh Lerner
Participatory budgeting gives the public the right to propose, deliberate, and vote on a part of the city budget. Does participatory budgeting actually improve democracy, transparency, and accountability, or is it simply another consultation tool in disguise?
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Video | 2016
Funding Democracy: Participatory Budgeting in Canada
Josh Lerner
This video features Josh Lerner, Director of the Participatory Budgeting Project, in conversation with Shelley Carroll, Alex Mazer, and Peter MacLeod.
Participatory budgeting gives the public the right to propose, deliberate, and vote on a part of the city budget. Does participatory budgeting actually improve democracy, transparency, and accountability, or is it simply another consultation tool in disguise?
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Video | 2016
Policymaking and the City: Joe Pennachetti in Conversation with Matt Galloway
Joe Pennachetti and Matt Galloway
In this video, former Toronto City Manager Joe Pennachetti was joined in conversation with Matt Galloway, host of CBC Radio 99.1 FM’s Metro Morning. With 35 years of municipal financial management experience, Mr. Pennachetti reflected on his career in the public service and share his thoughts on the challenges of policymaking for cities.
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Search Research Archive
Toronto Star: Gabriel Eidelman on the use of Strong Mayor Powers to Build More Homes
May 27, 2026
Burlington Gazette: Analysis of Strong Mayor Powers
March 30, 2026
Toronto Star: Enid Slack on the Use of Reserve Funds in Toronto’s Proposed Budget
February 10, 2026
