Search Results for: Perspectives Paper
Perspectives Paper | 2019
Transit in the Greater Toronto Area: How to Get Back on the Rails
Matti Siemiatycki and Drew Fagan
Toronto is an emerging global city. Yet the failure to build rapid transit in step with the explosive growth of the past 40 years is one of the city-region’s biggest impediments to inclusive development and prosperity. This paper outlines how transit planning in the Greater Toronto Area can be improved through changes to governance and the role of evidence in decision-making.
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Perspectives Paper | 2019
The Evolution of Local Governance in Mexico City: Pursuing Autonomy in a Growing Region
Alejandra Reyes
This paper examines the evolution of Mexico City’s governance structure. The City’s latest transition to a city-state, the paper argues, marks a particularly important step forward in the City’s pursuit of greater political autonomy and democratic decision-making.
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Perspectives Paper | 2019
The Right Tax for the Job: The Role of Property Taxes in Funding Cities
Bev Dahlby and Melville McMillan
The property tax generates a significant proportion of municipal revenues in Canada and has done so since Confederation. This paper makes the case that the property tax is a good tax for funding local (especially general-purpose) governments for several reasons: the base of the tax is immovable; the tax can generate reliable and sufficient revenues and make local governments independent from other orders of government; many of the core goods and services provided by local governments directly benefit property owners; the tax is visible to property owners; and the tax is easy to administer.
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Perspectives Paper | 2019
Closing the Diversity Gap in the Infrastructure Industry
Matti Siemiatycki and Yoko Cecelia Pye
This paper examines the diversity gap in the infrastructure industry, outlining a variety of statistics and indicators that show how women and racial minorities are underrepresented in leadership positions.
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Perspectives Paper | 2018
A Check-up on Toronto’s Fiscal Health, 2018
Before the last municipal election in 2014, IMFG issued a Perspectives Paper on Toronto’s Fiscal Health (Is Toronto Fiscally Healthy? A Check-up on the City’s Finances by Enid Slack and André Côté). In that paper, we undertook an assessment of the state of the City’s finances in four areas: spending and services; taxes and revenues; debt and savings; and infrastructure.
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Perspectives Paper | 2018
Bold Election Ideas for the Toronto Region
Elections are a time to assess what has happened in our community since the last election and ask questions – often uncomfortable questions – about the places we live and the environment we are creating for those who live here. In the lead-up to the 2018 Ontario municipal election, the Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance has commissioned a series of short pre-election papers to add to the dialogue and tap into the ideas of some of the GTHA’s most respected leaders. As you read these short papers, you will see that we have covered a wide range of themes – transportation, housing, homelessness, youth, neighbourhoods, Indigenous peoples, mental health, decent work, policing, universities, arts and culture, and regional and local governance.
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Perspectives Paper | 2017
The potential and consequences of municipal electoral reform
Aaron A. Moore
Following pressure from some sectors of civil society, the Province of Ontario passed a law in 2016 allowing municipalities to use ranked ballots to elect mayors and councillors. This change in provincial regulation, and the dialogue and debate that led to the policy change, raise important questions about the nature of municipal electoral systems in Canada.
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Perspectives Paper | 2017
How Much Local Fiscal Autonomy Do Cities Have? A Comparison of Eight Cities around the World
Enid Slack
Local fiscal autonomy is the extent to which local governments rely on locally raised revenues for funding and their ability to set their own tax rates. A comparison of Toronto, London (UK), Paris, Berlin, Frankfurt, Madrid, Tokyo, and New York reveals that Toronto is less dependent on intergovernmental transfers than many other major cities but, with the exception of London, it has fewer tax options.
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Search Research Archive
Inside Halton: Enid Slack on the Vacant Home Tax
September 6, 2024
Journal of Commerce: Aaron Moore on Winnipeg development
August 14, 2024
CBC Winnipeg: Aaron Moore on Third-Party Donations for Municipal Elections
July 22, 2024