Browse Our Research
IMFG Paper | 2021
Addressing the Fairness of Municipal User Fee Policy
Almos Tassonyi and Harry Kitchen
User fees are one of the principal funding mechanisms for a range of municipal services, from water and waste management to transit and recreation. New IMFG paper explains why user fees are a good source of revenue for municipalities, how they are employed in Ontario, and how to navigate the trade-off between efficiency and fairness.
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Video | 2021
Property Taxes: Effective, But Regressive? A Review of the Evidence
Devin Bissky Dziadyk
Graduate Fellow Devin Bissky Dziadyk reviewed the decades of research on the property tax, and provide new estimates of the incidence of the tax in Canada. Most estimates suggest that the property tax is regressive. If so, what does the regressivity of the property tax imply for cities, and do we need to reform the property tax to make it fairer?
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IMFG Paper | 2021
Developing Air and Land Control at Toronto’s Airport
Nick Lombardo
New IMFG paper explores how the development of Toronto’s Pearson Airport catalyzed informal regional governance and planning processes in the Toronto area.
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Presentation | 2021
Property Taxes: Effective, But Regressive? A Review of the Evidence
Devin Bissky Dziadyk
In this presentation, Graduate Fellow Devin Bissky Dziadyk reviews the decades of research on the property tax, and provide new estimates of the incidence of the tax in Canada.
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Presentation | 2021
Local Implications of a National Housing Strategy: The Case of Toronto
James Ankers
This presentation by Graduate Fellow, James Ankers, examined the implications for Toronto of recent national re-engagement in housing policy. It analyzed major elements of the National Housing Strategy and explored the new policy tools and approaches the federal government is using to engage local partners in the development and management of new housing stock.
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Video | 2021
Local Implications of a National Housing Strategy: The Case of Toronto
James Ankers
In this video presentation, Graduate Fellow James Ankers examined the implications for Toronto of recent national re-engagement in housing policy. He analyzed major elements of the National Housing Strategy, assessing how it differs from previous housing policy efforts, and explored the new policy tools and approaches the federal government is using to engage local partners in the development and management of new housing stock.
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IMFG Paper | 2021
Municipal Financing Opportunities in Canada: How Do Cities Use Their Fiscal Space?
Jean-Philippe Meloche and François Vaillancourt
Over the past decade, most major cities have received some new revenue sources. Yet, little is known about how cities actually use them or how they have benefitted. This paper reviews data from the municipal financial statements of the largest city in each province to investigate how Canadian cities are employing their revenue sources and whether more sources lead to more revenues and better services in cities.
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Video | 2021
The Role of Airports in Thriving City-Regions
Jean-Paul Addie
In this webinar, Jean-Paul Addie examined what we can learn from city-regions from around the world and their relationship with the airports that act as economic hubs for their regions. His presentation was followed by a panel discussion including Lloyd A. McCoomb (former President and CEO of GTAA), Pamela Blais (Metropole Consultants) and Josh Neubauer (Urban Strategies). Moderated by Matti Siemiatycki, Interim Director of School of Cities.
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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
Globe and Mail: Sean Grisdale on the “Squandering” of Public Land Sales
June 7, 2024