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Bulletin No. 60, October 2005
 Local Government Bulletin No. 60, October 2005

The purpose of this bulletin is to focus debate on the need to increase local self-government in Canada and to help local communities achieve more autonomy. The local self-government website is: http://www.localgovernment.ca
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In this bulletin:
1. Agglomerating
2. Hoping for renewal
3. The charter city idea as a dead end
4. Subscribe to the Bulletin
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1. Agglomerating

Everyone knew that when municipalities in the Montreal area were forced to amalgamate several years ago there would be something of a mess, and that when 15 of those municipalities decided last year to exit the big city it would even be messier, but should the current arrangement it be called an agglomeration? As an alliteration it catches just what a gooey, sticky, pudding has been created.

Agglomeration is the word applied to the unresolved arrangement which exists between the city and the 15 putative municipalities. A Transition Committee has been appointed by the province to bring order to the situation, and a report was issued on October 20 about how powers might be sorted out within the agglomeration. But there is not yet agreement on what the new relationships will be.

Complicating the matter even further – making it a mega-agglomeration, perhaps - is that elections for the mayor and councillors of the 15 municipalities take place on November 6, and the new councillors assume office January 1. (In Westmount, L’Ile Dorval, and Montreal West most positions have been filled by acclamation, but in the other twelve, the positions are all contested.) It means people will be elected to positions when they aren’t quite sure what powers they will have. Perhaps the final structure of the agglomeration will be sorted out by elected councillors and mayors who actually have a mandate to negotiate for their communities.

Further information in English about this charade – is that too strong a word? - can be found at http://www.montreal-transition.qc.ca/sommaire.en.php3 .

Meanwhile, the amalgamation in Montreal is turning out to have unintended consequences. While the boroughs have no direct taxing powers, they seem to play a more significant political role than anyone had expected beforehand. Some argue there is more decentralization than imagined before `fusion’ (as amalgamation is referred to) so that as dysfunctional as any forced amalgamation is bound to be, the agglomeration may become an interesting two-tiered structure. Some of the municipalities that suffered from financial constraints before amalgamation are now considerably better off.

2. Hoping for renewal

The Canada West Foundation has published a new study on an old theme - the need for a new partnership between provinces and big cities - but as with many issues it has tackled, the Foundation has added spark and new insight to the dossier.

Key to the CWF’s approach is its concentration on how provinces will benefit from a new partnership. Among the many advantages cited are the following:

*A new partnership shifts political accountability away from the province.

* It frees the province to look after its own interests.

* It considerably assists in the task of provincial economic development given the importance of healthy big cities to economic success.

* It frees up provincial resources to be used on provincial priorities.

* It ends the incessant wrangling between provinces and big cities over money.

* It allows cities to be partners with provinces, and assist them in their initiatives.

* Cities and provinces will both become more efficient since they will have clear responsibilities.

* Cities and provinces will both be in positions to respond to the mammoth change known as `glocalism,’ that is, a more international world where competitive advantage depends on local conditions.

The CWF report also includes public opinion data which shows that in Western Canada there’s significant support for cities having more power and money, with 78 per cent supporting a transfer of federal and provincial revenues to municipalities.

The new provincial-big cities partnership would involve consultation and consensus building, local autonomy and accountability, and a new fiscal framework. There are no surprises here, but putting it in a context of provincial benefits makes for a fresh and attractive perspective. With all of the current talk about how Alberta can (and should) lead the way by being the most innovative jurisdiction in the country, is it possible that Premier Ralph Klein (former mayor of Calgary) would be forward-looking enough to take the good advice of the Canada West Foundation before he steps down?

The full report can be found at http://www.cwf.ca , click on Publications, and scroll down to the third listed document.

3. The charter city idea as a dead end.

Those of us who placed hope in a charter as a way to secure real powers for cities will be disappointed to learn from a new study just how little power existing charter cities actually have. Luis Silva, a student of Professor Andrew Sanction at University of Western Ontario, has taken a close look at six cities in Canada that have or had charters – Saint John, Montreal, Halifax, Winnipeg, Vancouver and Lloydminster – and concludes that the charters themselves mean little. He notes that in three cases – Montreal, Halifax and Winnipeg – the charters provided no defense from amalgamation and reorganization imposed by provincial governments. The charter did not protect Saint John from provincial plans to foist natural gas pipes under its streets in 2000. Silva argues that several of Vancouver’s innovations (such as harm reduction strategies for drug users) result from an exercise of political power rather than charter power, and that Lloydminster’s real power stems not from its charter but from the fact it spills into two provincial jurisdictions, Alberta and Saskatchewan, thus gaining itself some maneuverability.

Silva notes that charters also exists in other cities – Charlottetown, Summerside, Cornerbrook, Mount Pearl, St. John’s, Gatineau, Levis, Longueuil, and Quebec City – but says the results are exactly the same. He quotes from former Saint John mayor Shirley McAlary to sum up what he sees as a universal situation in Canada: ”I don’t think you’re going to get anything (from a charter) that the province can’t override.”

He recounts the recent attempt to secure a charter for Toronto, then chases the ephemera of some structure which really does protect a city from provincial intrusion. He looks at provincial status, sovereign city status (as with Monaco, Vatican City, or Singapore), constitutional recognition of municipalities, home rule (as in some American states, and somewhat expressed by legislation in British Columbia) and a protocol. Home rule and a protocol suffer from the same limitation as charters.

The paper is thought provoking and, at 60 pages of text, concise. It has a fanciful title - “Escaping from the straightjacket that baffled Houdini” – but it can be found in the Library on our web site, http://www.localgovernment.ca, under `Charter Cities in Canada.’

4. Subscribe to the Bulletin

The bulletin is sent monthly, at no cost, to about 1500 individuals involved directly or indirectly in local government in Canada. Those who receive this Bulletin directly (not forwarded by a third party) are already part of the subscription list. Others who wish to subscribe should go to http://www.localgovernment.ca and follow the instructions. To unsubscribe, please send a message to info@localgovernment.ca indicating your wish to unsubscribe.
More information about the sponsors of the bulletin, a library of relevant and useful documents, and an archive of past Bulletins, can be found on our web site. We appreciate your comments, your feedback (to j.sewell@on.aibn.com ), and items of interest that you wish to share with us and others who visit the web site. Our next Bulletin will be in November.

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