3 Kinds of Provincial legislation for municipalities
1) creates individual municipalities
2) governs municipal elections
3) creates municipal administration
Example of provincial leg that creates individual municipalities
Private Members Bill
Example of provincial leg that governs municipal elections
Municipal Elections Act - a private bill because it affects everybody
Example of a provincial leg that creates municipal administration
Public Administration Act - public bill
3 types of municipal government
1) Two-tier
2) single-tier
3) unorganized
What is a two-tier municipality?
services are provided over a relatively large geographic area by different municipalities (Peele)
What is a single-tier municipality?
services are provided over a small geographic area by a single municipal gov (Toronto)
What is an unorganized municipality?
such a small or underpopulated area that there is no official gov
how often are municipal elections held?
every 4 years
what is a municipal constituency called?
a ward
what is the name of the elected position in a municipality?
a councilor
what is voted in “at large”?
when voters vote for the actual person who will be elected
what is the primary form of gov in a municipality?
council
what role does the municipal council have?
legislature and executive - represent, pass, execute, and implement laws
what are the 4 types of committees the municipal council divides itself into?
1) standing portfolio committee
2) executive committee
3) special committee
4) budget committee
municipal standing portfolio committee
subject based ie parks and rec
oversee development of policy and implementation in that area
municipal executive committee
chaired by mayor
responsible for corporate issues ie budget, elections, property
municipal special committee
ad hoc, short term
created for emergencies or short term projects ie SARS or floods
who/what defines a municipality’s strategic framework?
the mayor’s platform
What powers do Canadian mayors actually have?
- can call a special meeting
- can call a state of emergency
4 types of municipal management models
1) departmental
2) city manager
3) chief administrative model
4) board of management
Define policy
- the strategic direction for planning actions to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes
- a guide and framework for action or inaction to address a problem
what is Canada’s policy process?
1) define the problem
2) describe the policy environment
3) identify policy options
4) decide a course of action
5) implementation
6) evaluation
policy process 1)define the problem
use these characteristics to define the problem
- causality - proximity
- severity -problem populations
- incidence -solutions
- novelty
3 ways that problems get on a gov’s agenda?
1) outside initiation ie natural disaster, economic crisis
2) inside initiation ie political party
3) routine initiation ie anual birth rates and mortality rates
policy process 2)describe the policy environment
1) the gov’s strategic framework has 4 parts
- election commitments
- throne speech
- annual budget process
- previous policy statements ie mandate letters
2) Public Environment Assessment (PEA)
3) Analyze Stakeholders
policy process 3)identify policy options (3)
-do nothing
-act directly
-act indirectly
options must change either behaviour, condition, or service
how is cabinet organized?
includes:
- full cabinet
- policy and priorities committee
- treasury board
- legs and regs
- policy committees
who makes policy decisions?
cabinet
how does cabinet make policy decisions?
- individual department develops a submission to cabinet
- minister presents to a policy committee
- policy committee reports to full cabinet (fiscal or leg/reg policy require additional trips to other cabinet sub-committees)
- full cabinet reviews reports, issues cabinet minute
- If legislation is required, Justice works with the legislature to write the legislation; legislature is engaged to pass the bill
who supports cabinet? (4)
- PM’s/Premier’s office
- privy council/cabinet/executive council office
- department/ministry of finance
- treasury board secretariat
what are the 4 policy decision documents?
- overview document
- analysis document
- communications plan
- legislative strategy
what is an overview document? (policy decisions)
The 3-4 page “executive summary” designed for Ministers Key Components: Key Issue Rationale Recommended Course of Action Key Considerations/Due Diligence Communications Strategy and Key Messages
what is the analysis document? (policy decisions)
This document provides the “due diligence” for the proposed policy initiative Key components typically include: Background Key Considerations and Impacts Options Due Diligence Stakeholder Perspectives
what is the communications plan document? (policy decisions)
This document provides an analysis of the communications environment Key components typically include: communications objectives analysis of public environment anticipated reaction key messages announcement strategy supporting tools evaluation strategy budget
what is the legislative strategy document? (policy decisions)
In some jurisdictions, this document is used to outline the legislative strategy for the policy Key elements can include: caucus consultation results prior policy/political positions legislative environment analysis legislative plan legislative strategy
policy process 6)evaluation
Includes an analysis of:
Performance (degree to which it meets standards)
Span of Performance (input, activities, output, outcome, impacts)
Indicator (point in time for measuring outputs)
Baseline (measure outputs)
Target
difference between output and outcome
output: the service or good produced by the activity that uses the input
outcome: consequence of the output, short or long term, intended or not
8 indicators of good municipal governance
accountable transparent responsive equitable and inclusive efficient and effective follows the rule of law participatory consensus oriented
What do NVPOs have in common?
- pursuit of goals to serve the public or their members
- an institutional form that does not allow profit to be distributed
5 characteristics of NVPOs
- non-governmental
- non-profit distributing
- self-governing
- voluntary
- formally incorporated or registered under specific legislation
what do NVPOs do?
The largest categories of organizational activities are:
Sports and recreation (21% of total)
Religion (19%)
Social services (12%)
Grant-making, fundraising and voluntarism promotion (10%)
Arts and culture (9%)
Development and housing (8%)
who do NVPOs serve?
73% of NPVOs provide services or products directly to people (as opposed to other organizations)
The largest identified groups include:
the general public (46%)
Children and youth (23%)
the elderly (11%)
persons with disabilities (8%)
Other populations include Aboriginal peoples, immigrant populations and religious communities
how are NVPOs funded?
For all NPVOs, major sources of revenue is broken down as follows:
Governments provide 49% of all NPVO revenue
40% from provincial governments, 7% from the federal government, and 2% from municipalities
35% of revenue is earned income from non-government sources like memberships and sales of goods and services
13% of revenue is from gifts and donations from individuals, corporations and other organizations
If you exclude hospitals, universities and colleges:
36% of revenues come from government
43% from earned income from non-government sources
17% from gifts and donations, and
4% from other sources
who works for NVPOs?
- volunteers
- half of NVPOs have paid employees (2 million people total)
what problems do NVPOs have?
- recruiting and training volunteers
- earning revenues and obtaining funding
- planning for future and adapting to change
- getting involved with policy development
- retaining paid staff
what is the fiscal framework for international relations in Canada?
- Tax collection agreements
- Targeted program transfer payments
- Equalization transfer payments
what are the federation meetings for IR in canada?
FMCs – First Ministers’ Conferences APCs – Annual Premiers’ Conference Regional Premiers’ Conferences Ministerial Councils Deputies, ADMs and working groups
what are the formal dimensions of IR?
Structures – include departments, secretariats, or separate branches or divisions within departments
Accountabilities:
-Line departments report to a responsible minister
-Central agency unites report to a first minister
what do Inter-Governmental Agreements do?
provides services to client departments and assumes lead roles in developing and coordinating intergovernmental agendas
- Monitoring
- Coordinating
- Advising
what are the informal dimensions of IR?
- Consist of telephone/conference calls, e-mails, lunches, personal meetings
- Largely a world held together by friendship, trust, cultures and enmities and is shaped by bargaining, negotiating and influence
what is the vertical fiscal imbalance?
- revenue-expenditure asymmetry
- when the federal gov collects more money from the provinces than it redistributes
- when the provinces are not collecting enough revenue, but they need to spend more money, so they are forced to go into a deficit, which the federal gov does not bail them out of
what are the principles of good fiscal governance?
- clarity of roles and responsibilities
- public availability of information
- open budget preparation, execution, and reporting
- assurances of integrity
what are the 4 steps of federal budgeting?
- formulation
- approval
- collection
- oversight
what is the federal fiscal year?
April 1 - March 31
what is an ARLU?
Annual Reference Level Update
- “A” budget for departments
- the existing overall budget
- the estimates of expenditures
- no new funding or initiatives
draw a diagram outlining the federal budget formulation
Ongoing: Finance updates Economic/Fiscal Outlook
Late June: Cabinet Retreat I
Include:
Late September: Cabinet Retreat II
September-October: Departments submit ARLUs
Cabinet committees review initiatives
Late January: PM and Finance Minister make final decisions on Budget
February: Cabinet reviews Budget strategy
Budget & Main Estimates presented to Parliament
1 April: Start of fiscal year
Late June: Approval of budget (estimates) by Parliament
In what stage of federal budgeting is the “B” budget formulated?
2nd Cabinet Retreat - late September
What is included in the “B” budget?
-the adjustments made to the “A” budget after cabinet analyzes where to spend the “leftover” money
how does parliament approve the federal budget?
- Business of ways and means
- Business of supply
What is the business of ways and means?
The process by which the Government seeks parliamentary approval for its economic policy
- budget speech
- debate on the budget
- official opposition has a confidence vote over the motion
- final vote for house to determine confidence
what is the business of supply?
- essentially, when gov asks parliament to authorize the budget
- table the gov’s expenditures (main estimates) in the house
- committee reviews them
- parliament debates them
- Part 1: overview
- Part 2:details dept by dept organized by what parliament will vote on
- Part 3: RPPs and DPRs
what’s an RPP?
report on plans and priorities
-mandate, mission, and strategic objectives of
each department
-proposed spending
what’s a DPR?
departmental performance report
- what they have spent
- how well they are doing
what is step 3 of the federal budget process?
- Collection ie tax
- Except in Quebec, the federal government collects the personal income taxes owed to both the provincial and federal governments
- Except in Alberta, Ontario and Quebec, the federal government collects the corporate income taxes owed to both the provincial and federal governments
- In four provinces, the federal and provincial governments have harmonized their sales taxes
what is step 4 of the federal budget process?
Oversight
November-December
-The President of the Treasury Board tables the Public Accounts of Canada in Parliament
-The Auditor General reviews the Public Accounts by asking three basic questions:
Were programs and activities run economically and efficiently and is effectiveness measured and reported?
Did the government collect or spend the authorized amount of money for the purposes intended by Parliament?
Is the government keeping proper accounts and records, and presenting its financial information accurately?
-Fall – the Auditor General is required by law to submit an annual report to Parliament by December 31 each year.
what are the 4 major types of federal revenue?
- income tax
- consumption tax
- social security contributions
- other sources ie gas tax and user fees
what are the 3 largest provincial expenditures?
- health
- education
- social services
what are the 5 largest federal expenditures?
- Payments to individuals
- Payments to provinces and territorial governments
- Public debt charges
- Operating and other expenditures
- Tax Expenditures
what are the 4 things the Fiscal Transparency and Accountability Act, 2004 requires provinces to do?
- Financial Reporting
- Process Transparency
- Content Transparency
- Effectiveness
whats an interim supply?
- an interim supply motion can approve the gov to spend money based on last year’s budget, before to current budget is approved
- motion, not legislation
- monthly
- aka “sups”
what is a special warrant?
-gov asks gg to use special warrant for money in exceptional circumstances ie a flood between parliaments
what are the 3 questions the auditor general asks to review a budget?
- efficient?
- effective?
- economical?
what does the The Ministry of Treasury and Economics Act do?
requires the Minister of Finance to publish an annual report which sets out the details of the government’s financial transactions for the preceding fiscal year.
-budget oversight, public accounts
who reviews the public accounts of the provincial budget?
- standing committee on public accounts
- provincial auditor general
- the ag makes annual reports, which are reviewed by the standing committee on public accounts
what does the president of the treasury board do?
responsible for managing the government’s financial, personnel, and administrative responsibilities. Specific responsibilities include:
- examining and approving the proposed spending plans of government departments
- reviewing the development of approved programs
- developing and administering policies, directives, regulations and expenditure proposals with respect to the management of the government’s resources
