POLI 352 Study Guide - Winter 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Canada, Toronto, City
12 Oct 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
POLI 352
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
POLI352
January 16th 2018
Framing Local Government
Property tax is a primary revenue for the city.
Defining Local Government
- Includes both municipalities and all other governmental entities comprising territories smaller
than provinces and having their own governing bodies with some capacity for autonomous
decision-making
- Municipalities = primary urban political unit possessing corporate status and governmental
authority
o Most important component of Canadian local government
o Primary urban political unit
o Government authority – democratic election, possess taxes power, empower to make
laws, to administer these laws and to enforce within its jurisdiction
o Drive from provincial legislations
- Is there a legal definition of local government in Canada? No, we do not find a legal or
constitutional definition of local government.
- Local government is not synonymous to Municipalities
History of Local Government in Canada
- Canadian municipalities direct descendant of English municipal corporations
- History of independence between municipal corporations and monarch
- Were municipal corporations democratic?
- Transition to democracy
o Municipal Corporations Act 1835
▪ We really began to see this transition to democracy within these institutions
▪ Started to bureau councilor being elected, though only men who owned
property, excluding women and middle and lower class.
▪ The older men are elected, usually they appoint the major themselves, so in
soe plaes the ajor ere’t eleted y large
▪ Council would appoint someone in charge of the finance.
▪ Developing police forces
▪ Provisions for municipalities to engage within certain services, like street
cleaning. We start to see those policy actions.
▪ We also sa the aility for ities ho ere’t uiipalities, ho ated to e
a municipal corporations and applied the entities.
▪ Happeig at the sae tie tha Caada’s
▪ Engaged in their own trading, acting like business entities.
o Municipal Corporations Act 1849
- Established by parliamentary statutes
- A municipal corporation is entitled to do anything that its charter is allowing them to do
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
- We do not talk about municipal corporations as civil servants compared to Federal and
provincial representatives. Because municipalities represent their residents.
- Until 19th uiipal orporatios ere’t democratic but was being developed.
Rural Municipalities, Urban Municipalities, Unincorporated Areas
- Rural municipalities
o Townships, counties, districts
o Upper-tier regional municipalities, provide some services, within their own regions, like
roads.
o In the provinces that have these upper-tier, there are also lower-tier, which will provide
more local services to smaller areas. Those people living in those places are governed by
two-tiered system
o There might have some tensions between rural municipalities and those smaller ones.
- Urban municipalities
o Villages, towns, cities
o Owe their existence from initiatives from the low.
o This created a complex mess
- Unincorporated areas
o Vast areas of aada that are’t oered y ay uiipal orporatios
o Autonomous areas
o Might be people that live in incorporated areas and presented a challenge to the
provinces, to supply resources, still need roads, minimal services, paid for by municipal
corporations
o In some cases rural municipalities might step in to provide those services, and other
cases provinces would.
Special Purpose Bodies
- Includes agencies, boards and commissions
o Carry out single governmental function
o Democratically elected or appointed by politicians
o Authority to levy taxes claim tax revenues, charge user fees, make laws, enforce laws.
- Are very similar to municipalities, but established to carry out only one specific function,
compared to municipalities who carry multiple functions
- They are often democratically elected or appointed by people who were democratically elected
- Governmental entities
- The other confusing things, is that we also have special purpose bodies that are controlled by
federal authorities; ex, airports
Why Local Government?
- Local Government and Efficiency
o Economies of scale
o Economies of scope
o Allocative efficiency
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Property tax is a primary revenue for the city. Includes both municipalities and all other governmental entities comprising territories smaller than provinces and having their own governing bodies with some capacity for autonomous decision-making. No, we do not find a legal or constitutional definition of local government. Canadian municipalities direct descendant of english municipal corporations. History of independence between municipal corporations and monarch. A municipal corporation is entitled to do anything that its charter is allowing them to do. We do not talk about municipal corporations as civil servants compared to federal and provincial representatives. Until 19th (cid:373)u(cid:374)i(cid:272)ipal (cid:272)orporatio(cid:374)s (cid:449)ere(cid:374)"t democratic but was being developed. Rural municipalities: townships, counties, districts, upper-tier regional municipalities, provide some services, within their own regions, like roads. In the provinces that have these upper-tier, there are also lower-tier, which will provide more local services to smaller areas.
