Introduction

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Course Thesis: Talk about the way that municipal governments are tightly constrained Municipalities have a democratic instinct, a democratic impulse that makes of the populations of these municipalities. Even if provincial governments have restrictive legislation, the municipalities will ALWAYS be looking for ways where they can manage their political environment and advance their abilities and interests. Will be from an Urban perspective, but will also occasionally address Rural issues Newspaper information: link posted online Greenness of North American City came 2nd to San Fran o Vancouver did very well in each category o Also done by the EIU (credibility issues?), paid for by Siemens the engineering firm that makes a lot of environmental products Economist Intelligence Unit o Transportation issue that caused change was delays on the Malahat highway on the island Many of these studies are aimed at business decision makers, say very little about issues dealt with by day-to-day information of life in the cities o Transportation issues aimed at all elements of society, or aimed at a particular group of people, probable audience

What are we talking about when we talk about municipalities, cities and local governments? Capacity of local people to make decision for themselves Can contain many local decision making bodies (ie school boards, parks board) StatsCan: o 50% of Canadians live in 4 urban areas (Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary-Edmonton (?)) o 80% in Urban areas o 20% does NOT live in an Urban areas

do many of the same things that larger municipalities also need to do

What are the objectives of cities? Bureaucratic requirements that larger governments dont want to deal with. Business promotion Taxation, raising funds Making the city a livable place Many of the basic necessities for communal living o Water, sewage, garbage collection, fire departments etc. Public health Are cities run by chambers of commerce? Are cities there to make money/economic engins? Do many things to create an economic environment where businesses can thrive? Much of the literature is focused re. a pre-existing idea of what is important, and the purpose of a city Who is the city? What group is addressed by studies? Certain income level, geographic areas etc. Business side Citizen participation/rights

Snow plowing in London politics East of Adelaide example. Are cities local bureaucratic versions of provincial governments? Ontario: o Canada is a counter revolution, against what was happening in the USA at the same time. (UELers) o Wanted to retain British traditions, including the elites Attempt to establish a quasi-landed aristocracy Suppress local government (where the town-hall start of the American revolution) Numbered grids for surveyed land, rather than names o Lead to 1837 rebellions For increased participation in government And local government to look after local issues (school, trash p/u etc.) o Concessions: appointed boards, not a completely democratic process, government wanted control over who made the decisions o Durham Report Should be more democratic local government Did not adopt that particular recommendation Provincial governments have complete control regarding municipal governments o Eg. Saskatchewan issue of cat-control bylaw needing provincial legislature to change laws to give them the ability to control cats. Course Goals Look at kinds of institutions/structures that we call local government and municipalities Talk about it in a broad spectrum in political analysis o Those who participate o Those who do not, dont have the means to participate Municipalities as organizations that are constantly bargaining to improve their positions

Institutions and Processes

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Reminder: Oct 7 Paper proposal due, it needs to be well thought through

Pass/Fail you wont be able to continue until you have passed the proposal stage Thesis clear, sustained in the propsal

Class discussion: UBC as part of the city of Vancouver? *compare SFU/Burnaby with UBC/Vancouver *ally ways in Melbourne/Vancouver Institutions of Local Government Look at the institutions and the societal side o Institutions Set up under a law/bylaw Must confirm to certain legal framework o Societal Dont have to conform to any particular legal framework Defining Institutions o Formal definition lead to ask questions about nature of local government o 5 characteristics 1. They are organizations legal framework, character slow to change all institutions are organizations, but not necessarily visa versa

2. Is of long standing ie. Parliament, judicial system, military Municipalities How long standing are they if the provincial governments can come in and change them? Eg. Toronto/Montreal 3. They are authoritative can require certain behaviors in the same sense of provincial and federal governments municipalities bylaws delegated power from provincial government all bylaws subject to provincial oversight 4. They are resource assemblers brig together various resources for very purposes raise revenue through taxes, fees etc, from other governments use that revenue for various purposes water, libraries, fire depts etc. 5. They provide meaning who participate in them UBC ex: provides meaning to those who graduate from them Institution can provide a certain identity Cities can do the same things Perhaps less in Canada then places where cities have much longer history (eg. Roman before Italian) Sense of meaning should be thought about re cities, especially when we talk about amalgamations, those meanings can be important when looking at political aspects, and the sense of community that can be drawn upon for political motivation Sense of citizenship in a particular municipality/institution has a large scope, and can provide strong motivations

o BC hasnt forcible tampered with municipal boundaries in the same way that Ontario has o These characteristics can be found in the institutions of a municipal government, must have legal organization, authority, assemble resources, long standing, and ability to capture a sense of meaning, they can use it to motivate action in a particular directions Councils o A mayor cant do very much, without the support of council, keep tabs on whats going on in the Toronto Star with Rob Ford and the council and how theyre working (or not) together Variance between municipalities o Eg. Montreal 61 seat council, bigger than some provincial/territorial legislatures o Toronto 44 councilors o Vancouver 10 Councilors Actually a fairly small council for a city of its size o Bowen Island/Nelson 6 councilors o Smaller prairie municipalities 4 councilors o Almost all municipal councilors are part time position (exception being the largest cities), then it brings other things into consideration re. what they are able to get done Difference between career politicians (in larger cities) much like at the provincial and federal level Smaller councilors what can the part timers bring to the table, difficulties keeping up with federal, provincial programs etc. Small towns where populations dont change very much Councilors can be there for virtually a life time Structure o Essentially unstructured, with the exception of Montreal (Westminster style parliamentary set up) o Function in a circle, or something that closely resembles a circle

No seating differentiation re. parties or mayoral support etc. o No necessary prediction/expectation re. structure Means the mayor cant construct a council that is going to give them the expectation of support No absolute prediction that people will stick to the party line Mayors dont have the same level of control over mechanisms of govt like PM and Premiers, and able to give particularly important posts to those who will support him Except: Toronto There is an executive committee, which Rob Ford appointed b/c they would support him, but now many are not. Decision on the council depends on who is able to be the most persuasive. It may me the mayor, but may not be.

Functions o Represent Representative democracy analogous to provincial/federal legislatures Represents a particular group of people More critical in cities with wards (ridings) Except in British Columbia, almost all councilors are elected in wards. BC they are all elected at large Every councilor has the job of representing everybody. Social representation Composition of boards reflecting composition of society Women/men, visible minorities etc. o Bringing things to public debate Open bodies, that are easy to access o Have legal authority to pass laws

Delegated to them on behalf of the provinces, authority granted by provincial legislation Arent really governments in the way we see national, state govts o No distinction between the executive and legislative function The body that is the legislative body is ALSO the body that caries out the legislation Debate, spending, structure all done by the same body We dont have a clear idea of accountability, because the delineations arent as clear The mayor only has one vote, and the other councilors have the same amount of decision making power

Committees o Most decision makings is done by committees, especially on larger councils (ie. Toronto) less likely on smaller ones (ie. Vancouver o Number of committees varies widely across municipalities Vancouver 3 broad committees Saskatoon 26 committees, very specific o Detailed work done at this level, reports, proposals, discussion re wording etc. Work of committee will come before whole council and then they will make the final decision o Analogous to parliamentary committees, but on a smaller, scale Why Councils are Weak? o Dont have clear executive function o Dont have clear lines of accountability o Late 19th/x in USA Reform Era Reform of American municipal government

Period before full of rapid growth and urban expansion, and infrastructure construction and corruption Machine Politics Organizations would support a politician with the expectation that they would get the contracts for construction projects Labour Unions o Union members would be hired Ethnic Organizations o Group leaders were often the only link to non-English speaking immigrants to

the politicians Movement to change municipal government to eliminate this systemic bribery Solution: take away council power, so they didnt have the chance to manipulate the systems in exchange for perks w/o single line of accountability, less able to figure out who to bribe Criticism of Ward System Ethnic groups concentrated in particular wards, links btwn ethnic leaders and representatives Got rid of the ward system, and has since been readopted except in BC Should operate like businesses Closer link between sources of income and where the spending was happening Enabled social service provisions Many reversed in Canada and USA, but we do see the echoes, effects of them still here in Vancouver

Municipalities in BC have much more freedom than in most other provinces, except for those in Quebec. Eg. Toronto Act Ontario o The mayor of Toronto has powers that other city mayors dont have

Executive Functions Very limited o Often think of Mayors as the people that we hold accountable, thanks to the figure head position, that we equate with other heads of government Historic distinction between administration and government o Administration shouldnt really be used in municipal govt, because of the blend/unity of executive and legislative functions Comparison with Prime Minister/Premier 1.Leadership Role o Speaker for the state and the policy agenda PM o Chairs cabinet, and other aspects of decision making, and the legislature in a majority government PM o Principle media contact PM 2.Principal decision maker o PM controls cabinet, thus the policy agenda, cabinet members know theyre there at the PMs discretion 3.Give direction to administration (bureaucracy) o PM can reorganize the bureaucracy, machinery of government 4.Make extensive appointments o PM appoints senate, judges, ambassadors o Aimed to give consistent direction to a government 5.Set central policy direction of government o Economic 6.PM focus of accountability o There is one person that can be held accountable for the direction of government in the Westminster parliamentary system

o Advantageous to citizens re. accountability Effective factors A mayor really only does the 1st one the leadership role 2-5 are done by the whole council, the mayor cant make appointments 6. Difficult to assign responsibility to the mayor, who may all vote against the mayor, and has no control over the votes taken by the 10 councilors Powers of Mayor Figure head Mayor needs to be a more skilled politician that a Premier or Pm o Needs to bring together more factions, and get them to work together o AND doesnt have the power that Premier/PMs do have o Naheed Nenshi Has been in Ontario, trying to get ppl to move to Calgary Inspirational leadership o Rob Ford More combative leadership o Gregor Robertson riots Example of HOW mayors manage Mayor can coordinate o They sit on all committees in the city Can keep them from going in completely different directions Do not set the agenda in the big picture

Interact with bureaucracy o More than individual councilors There can be prohibitions against extensive interactions Some of the leadership roles, but nowhere near the level of control/power of a PM Political Resources Visibility out and about doing things At the centre of things Some Exceptions Winnipeg o More power re bureaucracy Quebec o Partial veto BC/Sask o Mayors can fire some sr. bureaucratic positions Montreal o Structure like Westminster parliamentary system o Can chose a cabinet

External Relations

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Gregor Robertson Garbage collection video on CBC compare level of garbage programs at different cities, different levels of recycling city employees community interaction Bureaucracy Almost nothing we do that isnt touched by bureaucracy o Public and private sectors o All large organizations have them Central problem o Having the right kind of relationship between the decision makers (politician) and those who work in the day to day functioning Problem that has confronted bureaucracies since the early 20th century Woodrow Wilson must be able to take the politics out of bureaucracy and have a science of administration in order to have a smoothly functioning bureaucracy Must have a rational scientific way to approach the technical aspects without letting the personal, social, political, religious etc. aspects of society impact upon it o Political decisions carried out in a non-political manner Politics Of o Bureaucracies are separate from the decision making apparatus, all sorts of ways that politics affect and infiltrate it o Inter-agency competition Between environmental and road-building agencies as an example o Public choice Really private choice, modeled on the economic argument that individuals will try to maximize their utility People will try to enhance their job, so they will try to make a bigger job to justify a higher level of pay, generates inefficiencies

Given the opportunity, bureaucracies will expand as more and more ways are found to enhance it Nothing unusual about bureaucrats in this situation human nature o Ideas held by individuals Possible to set up systems to keep personal beliefs out of an administrative system, but they are never totally removed o Two-way function relationship with the decision makers (politicians) Bureaucracy expected to carry out decision made, they also advise that same decision making body Members of the bureaucracy make select the advice they give to the decision makers, so as to encourage them to make decisions that are more advantageous to the administration Models of Bureaucracy in local government Departmental o Long duration, but slowly disappearing o Various departments of the city will report directly to the council, each department head meeting with the full council Present factual information data, public demands, costs, legality etc. o Difficulty: department heads are career bureaucrats Have lots of knowledge about bureaucratic systems When they go to council, they will be thinking about the relationship between their department and the council, and are thus in an inter-agency competition with the other departments in the city Career bureaucrats are often more experienced, insightful, wily, and full-time compared to politicians, have more resources and political skills when it comes to getting their objectives met Politicians are at a disadvantage and outgunned when it comes to negotiations with their bureaucrats

The more manipulative/skilled bureaucrat will be better able to influence the council, moving the political decisions from the council to the department heads City manager o Idea that you want to have one person with experience who coordinates all the departments, as an in-between for the department heads and the council o Administrator, not politician, understands the dynamics of departments, full-time position, very knowledgeable about the entire system o Better able to control and manage inter-agency competition, and they present the information to council o Not an elected position o Difficulty one to one relationship, few checks and balances, the city manager has all the power of the department heads in the earlier example, but now concentrated in one person Need a good working relationship with the city manager Board of management o Can be experienced councilors designated to sit on board, they can also be appointed positions Department heads report to them much in the same way they do to the city manager o Advantage of creating a body whose primary function is to keeping in touch with what is going on in the departments, they have some particular skill in this situation o Keeps people more balanced with fewer opportunities for individuals to manipulate the system, more checks on power o Frees up council to focus on the political issues Chief admin officer o Has relationship with the department heads that is STRICTLY administrative Budget implementation, annual reports, the nitty-gritty of things to work Collect reports to put together for future budgets

Like the relationship with the city manager but only administrative relationship, no political/policy aspects of it o Individual departments will still have interactions with the council, to provide advice on particular issues etc Still a direct policy information connection between council and departments When council makes decisions are made, the CAO is informed, and then is responsible for distributing the resources to the various departments o EXCEPTION: City of Winnipeg Secretariat unique to winnipeg A body in addition to the CAO Meant to be a policy formation body, similar to the privy council office Interacts with all the department heads like the CAO, but only on policy issues Because it is a body, there is again less chance for manipulation between policy goals and policy formation Prof thinks its a sensible solution to the issue of political manipulation, fully separates the administrative body and policy formation body.

Problems Desire to separate administrative functions and politics o When they are the same body, it becomes more likely that the administrators becomes political actors o Prof belief: Winnipeg combo of CAO and Secretariat most effective for dealing with this issue Political control of the bureaucracy Citizen responsiveness o Citizens should be able to have frequent and close access to their governments o What is citizen response to council vs to the departments Relations outside the governing and bureaucratic systems outside the municipal structure

o Relationships between municipalities happen at the administrative level Eg. Transit, garbage coordination etc. When they have an impact/interest with citizens they become political issues Metro Vancouver is in charge of garbage disposal o Difficult for citizens to follow and understand issues of accountability Dont know where to discuss their concerns with garbage etc. Several layers, where accountability gets diluted Agencies, Boards & Commissions (ABCs) Fair amount of attention paid to this issue in the literature, mostly focused on Ontario o Less common in BC than other provinces History o Upper Canada 19th century Meant to be apolitical Police boards, Childrens aid societies Morphed into agencies Eg. SPCA Function to carry out some of the mandate to carry out some of the function of the municipal government What they do o Not strictly part of municipal government, set up to be independent of it o Can make binding decisions, and implement taxed and fees Eg. Property use rules, restrictions o Narrow function, narrow mandate, fairly autonomous, appointed boards o Have been used to take things out of the political realm of the local government Can be seen as desirable to have a specific program delivery agencies

Specific area where the municipality wants to deliver a program that is seen to be apolitical o Separate fee-setting structures from the political realm Eg. Water boards, Electricity (delivery by city common in Ontario) o Allows municipalities to make agreements with other agencies Eg. Federal govt has no mandate to be involved with municipal government, but an arms length agency can have a close working relationship with the federal government Both federal and municipal can fund this agency, without stepping into Provincial jurisdiction o Some municipalities may want to move things off the balance sheet to present a balanced budget History o Upper Canada 19th century Meant to be apolitical Police boards, Childrens aid societies o Morphed into agencies Eg. SPCA Function to carry out some of the mandate to carry out some of the function of the municipal government Why they arent in BC o Municipal mandate is more broad in BC, there never was a relationship between electricity and municipalities in BC o Long history of distinct market relationship between electricity provides and consumers in BC, and the municipalities never came into it o Regional Districts Take on many of the roles of ABC in BC Eg. Regional Parks outside central municipalities o Close approximations/Counter examples in BC Granville Island Owned by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (Federal Govt)

Instead of a joint agency, its entirely managed by the federal government City of Vancouver doesnt have a close relationship with its management Economic Development Commission Metro Vancouver has them in each municipality as opposed to regional agencies Set up to bring in expertise from other areas Board has private sector and academics as members Still moves it away from the political aspects of the

municipality, but is able to bring in expertise in a way that may not be available to many deparments PARKS BOARD doesnt fall under this example because it is elected like a school board, and is funded through a regular, political city funding mechanism Discussion about Ottawa A fairly dull city to live in o People leave for Montreal and Toronto on weekends o Lots of cultural venues Most national cultural venues, that most Canadian will never get a chance to go, because its very expensive National Capital Region o Ottawa/Gatineau in Ontario and Quebec o Municipal aspects of the two run by the federal government Unique, upheld at the Supreme Court vs. Ont and Qc What do capital cities do? Do we expect them to cultural centres? o Yes in old European cities where there are very long histories as political and cultural centre of the country o No nobody really thinks that Ottawa is the cultural centre of Canada in the same way Literature about management of capital cities is fairly interesting if you want to write about them Reading package should be available today.

Electoral Systems

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Electoral Systems BC as a hotbed (of radical conservatism) o BC has come up with many interesting ideas for changing the electoral procedures, but in every referendum, voters chose to stick with the status quo Two systems o Wards In larger cities in much of Canada where the cities are divided into electoral districts Almost eliminated through the reform movement, Vancouver did in the 1930s Most municipal governments went back to the ward system Thunder Bay uses a mixed ward/at-large system Argument that the at large system favors the white, upper-middle class, Anglo-Saxon population, because they are more likely to vote White more WPG etc More educated, higher income, more likely to vote Recent immigrants, visible minorities East Vancouver Less well educated, lower incomes, less likely to vote When all councilors are at large, all 10 councilors tended to have their concentration in the west side of Vancouver COPE the Vancouver relative/branch of the CCF o At-large How all municipal elections are done in Canada The entire municipal area is a single electoral districts In Vancouver an at large systems tends to favor an upper-income demographic, and until the 1990s it also tended to have a racial component The Debate

o COPE & Berger Want to re-establish the ward system all neighborhoods should have a representative of that neighborhood guarantee that there would be councilors from all parts of the city, rather than weighted towards the western end of the city When elected, conducted public consultation re changing to the ward system vs. at-large systems Recommended that the city switch to the ward system, and that there should be a referendum on it Relatively close result, but at-large system won o If it isnt broke, dont fix it, and that the at-large system has developed a very livable city o Like the idea of all councilors having a city wide mandate, and making 10 choices instead of 1 o Lives arent necessarily conducted in only one region of the city Parks vs. housing vs. employment vs. recreation vs. etc

o Berger Report Disadvantages Skew towards the western part of the city Extensive size of the municipal ballots +100 names, incredibly cumbersome, difficult to appropriately evaluate all these campaigns information demand favours those from the western part of the city

o less so now, as the ethnic media is better at covering municipal politics than most traditional media Lack of a direct representative Who do you turn to with a problem Less direct ability to kick the bums out/decide how to change your vote Idea of there being 2 cities west side/east side Media came out mostly against the ward system Referendum o Results really havent changed the politics of it, as COPE still is

in favor of the ward systems Last bit about formal institutions of local government Shows the relative uniqueness of local government in BC Difficulty in clear, distinct lines of power Weaknesses of mayors as political leaders How to manage the things that they do manage to do?

Translink Discussion & Proposal Prep 21:01:00

09/09/2011

Discussion: Metro Vancouver Mayors have concerns that they supply money to translink without much opportunity for input. Pre 2008 translink board was more politicized, but has changed to a more corporate institution. Also: re RCMP contract with BC mayors argue that its too expensive to run, but they dont have any say with the contract. They can either accept the federal government contract, or decline and be forced to develop their own police force. Should mayors have more control over spending distributions and requirements? Should translink stay the way it is, or should it become more politicized. Possible paper topic police force How this is any different from the every other public corporation that is at arms length from government (bank of canada, bc hydro) Concerns taxation with out representation Mayors looking out exclusively for their own constituency without taking into account the broader mandate of regional needs and feasibility o Strategic decisions are political at the local level Should they be made by The provincial government Board appointed by provincial government Mayors council Other possible solution directly accountable board Elected like a school board, but on the regional level? At the same time as other municipal elections?

Legal aspects re. regional district legislation Prof perspective: should be a board of mayors who are decision makers, the decisions ARE political, and political jockeying is regular politics, and in most situations, a decision that comes out is hopefully the best option for the region, province, country etc. o Mayors are experts at seeing where those needs are o Big discussion, because no one really seems to be satisfied with the way transit work in the lower mainland Proposal Info ID the topic fairly simple thing to do first sentence Eg. In context of global warming, rapid transit........ o Can get right into no big introduction Describe the importance of local government o 200 words of the 500, 700 taxation, representation nature of expertise sensitivity to local issues o Couple of short paragraphs that contrast with each other Thesis statement o Could be first sentence, it could be later in the first paragraph, should come fairly early on o Should present an argument in presenting the thesis statement Eg. A council of local mayors, open to public consultation, would ultimately provide a more effective transportation management etc for metro Vancouver, than any other alternative Should be a statement of argument, where you take a side on what could a dispute Briefly discuss some of the main literature on the topic o Eg. Smith argues that local councils do x, while Wong argues that appointed boards do y Bring these sources into discussion, may include a brief bibliography Like a private conversation, but slightly more formal Doesnt have to be same template as final paper

o Would like to be able to identify argument, the direction youre going, and what/how youll use sources. o General sense of what the essay is going to look like o Be very clear on the topic, and what your argument isq

Processes of Local Government 09/09/2011 21:01:00

Insite role of municipalities in policy making, something that started in Vancouver will have nation-wide consequences, spread to others now that supreme court has made its decision Affected the Canadian constitution criminal law power has been somewhat diminished. The federal government had been able to use it to regulate drug related programs. The safe injection site overruled the criminal law power in favour of provincial governments authority re. health care, and Section 7 of Charter. o Long-term consequences Future consequences o Potential major changes in policy approach/framework for dealing with illegal drugs and drug addictions o Shift from war-on-drugs philosophy to a social-medical care model re. drug use Paper topics: 4. Relationship between municipal and federal government. Specifically related to xxx look at homelessness as an issue, particularly as municipal govts, jack Layton book re. homelessness talk about the federal role under that guise, relationships and decision, and supreme court decisions, or those they have considered taking because of section 7. About homelessness with 7 as a component. Totally manageable subject. 5. Something to do with how different municipalities handle urbanaboriginal concerns. Best-practice. Comparative re. different provinces, size of city etc. better to look between similar large cities in Canada. Percentage aboriginal population combined with the treaty experience Vancouver, Winnipeg and Saskatoon. Doable, but some risks. The essay should be working in some kind of analytic framework

Some models, or several models about what some of the options are available. Does X situation meet model A, B or C, and might there be better results by using another model. o Might want to look at a certain event or series of events, and which policy models might apply o Eg. Marxist, feminist, etc.

Not a o o o

comparative paper, limit paper to an analysis What is the framework, who is the power, how it changes. If you identify a problem dont present a solution Scientific paper style Strong argument, but an argument about HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS eg. High levels of poverty in the DTES is because of X. o City has made it a priority, but Provinces and Federal havent o What about Vancouver has made it so special re their emphasis on Vancouver o Try and avoid a policy recommendation paper, want to understand how the system works Use quotes in your proposal

Who, What Things that happen on the voluntary motivations of people within society, affected by legislation, but not mandated by it Who: candidates, voters, residents, members of society What: the organizations that they form, political parties etc. They arise out of society and seek to influence the institutions, but are not the institutions themselves. o The institutions will pass regulations that governs how these groups can function E.g. terms a candidate needs to meet to be put on a ballot Candidates Most of Canada: o Self-appointed, declare their interest in being a candidate, pay a fee, prove residence, proof of identification o Nomination process very modest, virtually everybody can run, assuming they meet the basic age, citizenship and residency requirements

o Not really an issue re. the number of people that step forward, because most municipalities have a ward system, and they become candidates in their ward Not a really crowded field o Campaigns are often very low cost Brochure, posters, a few meetings, and thats it. o Candidates have strong name and face recognition within the wards. Small communities, where they are well known Clear advantage for incumbents Obviously more complex in larger cities. Wards are larger, and population is sometimes less stable, sometimes more of an

organization Mayors will have some kind of support organization, but usually a lose, temporary type of organization o They are running city wide, and have a larger $$$ money requirement o In the largest cities, the only people who have a realistic chance of becoming mayor, are those who have an established name-recognition or/and a strong support network Vancouver o Political parties in Vancouver You could run as an independent, but its unlikely that one would be successful o Candidate selection just as political inside parties as at the provincial and federal level o 2 political parties that see themselves as centre-left, they have made an agreement (Vision and Cope) so as not to run enough candidates to split the left vote Vision 7, Cope 3 Contentious decisions within each political parties, as many insiders would like to be completely independent from each other Anxiety that if they split the vote, the NPA would be successful Slates

Not really parties, because they dont have the same level of cohesion and organization as a political party A group of candidates get together and mutually support each other, because they often have the same goals etc. o Eg. Agreement between COPE and Vision Blurry o When organizations that might be considered a political party, still insist on calling themselves a slate This is what is happening in Surrey, where the slates have morphed into parties Some cities have rules against slates, same with other organizations

but its hard to enforce/prove Parties Pros and Cons of political parties at the municipal level o Fairly rare outside of Vancouver/BC o Con: Political parties could create conflict between municipal council and provincial government if they are of different political background Presupposes that municipal governments are closely linked to their larger counterparts Have been no successes at prov/fed parties having success at the municipal level Limited representation Party members cannot act for their areas, because they cannot toe the party line Outside of Montreal where this is an issue, there is limited party discipline Political Affiliation of mayors readily available to careful political watchers Having a party label may not make all that much difference o Pro: Same advantages at the national/provincial level, especially in larger cities

Once a population reaches a certain size, the personal relationships with the candidates breaks down, and there is a need for an alternative method of communicating who the candidate is and what they stand for. The party can fill this roll. Advantage within council that it facilitates construction of council and the framework that those decisions are taken in If they arent aware how all the issues interlock, but provides them with a framework to work inside Cue-taking tool

Vancouver Political economy divions in BC was much sharper in the 1930s than it is today. Political divisions less fluid. o With the view of the CCF on the scene, property owners etc in Vancouver argued that there should be no political parties at the municipal level reform type arguments o Restrictions on votes during this period, so a political character did exist NPA Non Partisan Association o With the view of the CCF on the scene, property owners etc in Vancouver argued that there should be no political parties at the municipal level reform type arguments Decided to form a Non Partisan Association that would continue to run the city along the business model, where the city would provide services to the of property owners Never was a non-political association, despite claims, because it was very associated with property and business interests in the city o Dominated municipal politics until the 1960s Social organizations of the political left organized Vancouver and District Labour Council and others campaigned to elect a strong defender of low income and very low income residents, counter point to property owners Committee organized to elect him know as...

COPE Committee (now Coalition) of Progressive Electors o NDP not a part of the original committte, are not part of it now in the 70s, even tried to have own Vancouver party o Represented the left of centre interest in the city wide range of actors/interests o Continues to exist TEAM o 1968 The Electors action movement mostly federal Liberals very centrists, and didnt think that NPA or COPE represented their centrists politics o Wanted change, but not as much as COPE wanted to expand and enhance 1960s LPC social policies (Medicare, Canada pension plan etc.) o Interested in the character of urban life Response to what was happening in the US, with the civil rights movement, population migration to industrial cities, and urban decay Wanted to avoid that this happened in Canadian cities Social policy base at the municipal level that would offset urban decay o Galvanizing Event elevated freeway over Chinatown into downtown Vancouver VISION

Regional Local Government

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Sask laboratory to watch Clear that agriculture would be the dominant economic driving factor of the province at settlement o Most of the province is still agricultural land (more than any other province) Transport o Railway o Horses Province surveyed into great big blocks, with roads around them o Grain elevators built where the outline roads met, towns built up around them. As they fell into disuse, the towns faded away Regional Municipalities R.M. o Small towns within the R.M. Separate legal identity Theses small towns within the R.M. meant that there were infact 5 jurisdictions in the region

Governments never wanted to challenge this because it would risk the support of the rural people who were opposed to any sort of amalgamation o Duplication of municipal services around the small towns, that were originally far apart when travel by horse, but now very close with cars Would be easy to merge them because they are so close together Eg. R.M. will plow roads up to town boundaries, and the town will plow others, or the R.M. wont plow, and people inside have plowed roads but cant leave Not a changing situation due to the nature of provincial politics BC-Reg Dist Very different geography than Saskatchewan, and diff rational for economies, different economic bases (not farming) Municipalities establish over a longer time than in Saskatchewan, and towns would come and go as resource availability changed Huge burst of economic activity from mid 50s to mid 70s o As the economy grew, people started to live on the fringes of municipalities, along with good highways and good vehicles o New settlement in rural areas that hadnt been there before BC had to decide how it was going to organize local government of rural areas, and the relationship between these rural areas and the existing municipalities o Rural areas had dealt directly with Victoria Regional Districts o 1960s establishment of regional districts so that they covered the entire province o Relatively stable over time o Provide a 2-tier regional government, similar to earlier counties of Ontario o Existing municipalities continued to exist as legal entities (unlike in amalgamation in Ontario) Allows them to keep framework in place

Benefit of existing investments, able to keep identity o BCs unique solution of the relationship between rural areas and existing municipalities Regional District Board o Indirectly elected board members Someone from each municipality (usually the mayor or a counselor) o Non-municipal rural areas are divided that allow for direct election of representatives to the board - called electoral areas o For some rural areas, this was the first instance of local government (like central coast) MetroVancouver only one area Electoral Area A o Not contiguous geographically Indian arm, coast, UBC o All others are from the 23 municipalities o Highest proportion of board members indirectly elected Planning outlet o Roads, land use planning, garbage, sewage, parks, libraries etc. o Allowed for a shift for the provision of local services to some sort of local centre Cross-border traffic o People in rural areas would go into the rural areas would go into municipalities to use services, and werent paying taxes to support them o free-rider problem solved through the Regional District system, to provide some sort of shared-cost framework Coordination o Between municipalities and between municipalities and rural areas to ensure coordination on services o Supplemented by things RD have added to their powers Regional parks Usually bigger and more wild Lower onsite development Local regional body that can establish and maintain parks systems o Fraser-Fort George (incl Prince George)

Built an art gallery in Prince George Didnt have to be solely funded by the city Are they meant to be service organizations or governments? o Service organizations o Dont provide health board or school board type services (More) The provincial politics in Sask and in Ont amalgamations didnt come into the BC situation RD are a fairly effective way to do what they do

Interest Groups

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another part of the social/societal framework of municipalities Definition: private-sector organizations that seek to influence government through some sort of communicative interaction with bureaucracy or direct influence over decisions taken by politicians usually a fairly close working relationship between advocacy members of the interest group and the bureaucracy or politicians whereas think tanks (e.g. Fraser Institute, CCPA) try to influence by writing persuasive reports that are picked up by the media, etc (they are NOT interest groups) not a political party because political parties are trying to take control of government and interest groups are not use term interest group, because interest is relatively politically neutral lobby group might be the same kind of organization but word lobby has taken on a negative tone to suggest an anti-democratic and manipulative group and not all of them are NGO has really arisen in the international relations sphere, so not as appropriate on the domestic level Issue-oriented to Institutionalized: spectrum, put forward by Paul Pross re: federal government, but can be applied to municipal talking about political resources that groups have that allow them to influence the government takes a very sophisticated non-business group to become institutionalized, so this framework ensures certain groups better access to the policy makers than others Pross' contribution is important due to its focus on Canada

interest groups interact mainly with the bureaucracy (vs the US where they are interacting with politicians) Resources: Membership Money Knowledge

o about the field in which they are operating o of government know their way around a bureaucracy (relationships, authority, structure) Organization o Focus on the survival and maintenance of the organization Categories of groups: Issue-oriented (latent) least organized o unstable membership, come and go according to the issue o partly because they are usually focused on one issue, they may be able to generate large sums of money, but not consistently over the long-haul to sustain themselves o tend to be on some more controversial or emotional topic rather than technical topic, so they don't have the same technical expertise or information that governments haven't otherwise collected o tend not to have a knowledge of government o tend to be groups protesting on the lawns in front of the legislature as their only strategy, rather than one of many strategies o substantial nature of the organization: completely volunteer run, don't have an office or corporate presence o run out of a basement with personal telephone #, etc not like an organization at all o their entire purpose is focused on a particular issue so if they lose there is no more reason for them to exist (not just focused on survival and maintenance) Fledgling Mature Institutionalized most political resources business groups and large, well-established volunteer groups stable, capable memberships who usually pay a fee steady stream of money is very important

 business organizations can rely on members for annual fee, usually provide something in return (newsletter, magazine, other information, etc) all the indications of a modern organization (address, office, letterhead, etc) lose some battles (back off, negotiate) in order to maintain the organization Policy Community: More of Pross' theory at the center of the policy community, there is a lead bureaucrat that coordinates all the disparate ideas that come within the policy community the next level he called the sub-government o mixture of government and non-government (business and non-business components) agencies the outer level is the attentive public (journalists, academics, foreign governments, and other people interested in the policy community)

Urban Associations

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Like local governments Extensions of local governments, and undertake the kinds of activities that are part of the local governments areas, while not actually local governments, but are LIKE local governments o Eg. Smaller municipalities use them to print their ballots, because they already have the contacts and the expertise Like interest groups. Provincial associations are not exactly interest groups/lobbyist activities either, because they are often established under a framework of provincial legislation More parties to an inter-agency relationship with the provincial government o They are advocates for municipal issues with provincial governments o Interaction with federal governments is clearly an interest group capacity, because the federal government has no jurisdiction with municipalities Background UBCM BC AMO Ontario Sometimes multiple associations in one province o SUMA Saskatchewan urban municipal association o SARM Saskatchewan association of rural municipalities Provincial Associations UBCM o Talking shop where they can get together and exchange information, air grievances etc. place where local governments could go an be away from cameras/journalists etc., more freedom to be candid o Provincial government provides a building in Victoria, akin to an embassy (actual head offices are in Richmond) Allows somewhat neutral territory for relationship with provincial ministers

o Ordinary extension of government functions Electoral practices Ballot printing, ballot security, electoral conduct, worked out here so there is a degree of uniformity o Training seminars For new councillors Esp important for small municipalities, or where there are no parties, can be elected when they dont expect to be o Legal advisory service Ensure laws conform with provincial and national legal o o o frameworks Financial assistance Research and public opinion polling RCMP contract Cost structure concerns Negotiations No the same tensions with Vancouver as with Toronto, because Vancouver isnt all that large, even though it is a focal point.

AMO o Cost saving services by buying gas in bulk, and then selling to its member municipalities o Problem of Toronto So much bigger than all other members Toronto can do things on its own without going through the AMO in negotiations (6th largest budget in the city fed, ont, qc, bc, alt) Political tension in the association

Saskatchewan o History interesting, because the provincial government was not always and effective force, so much depended on the municipalities National FCM o Deals with lobbying on national policies, like provincial counterparts, and deals on the international levle o Not created by statute, not done by provincial governments, but CANNOT be established by federal government o More appropriately an interest group o Office in Ottawa Provincial government jurisdiction o Provinces very defensive when federal government appears to be treading into municipal areas, work hard to keep them out Federal government o Will sponsor FCM conferences, held in FCM offices, appears to be a FCM activity o Federal ministers will attend and be involved, without causing issues of jurisdictional trespassing. o Ability to work with the federal government for the benefit of municipal governments, a doorway between the two that doesnt incite the anger or jealousy of provincial governments o Lobbies for federal programs that will help the municipalities Like infrastructure upgrades as a stimulus tool Municipalities need a lot of money to upgrade and replace existing, aging infrastructure and in transit systems Research to put together packages to persuade federal politicians on their need to work with the municipalities o Do lots of in-depth reports about municipal issues (can use their reports as sources in papers) o Part of their advocacy effort International role

o Works with other countries and other countrys municipalities to have a cross national dialogue about the workability of cities that will be of interest on a global scale o Helps cities in countries undergoing regime change, like Elections Canada does with new national governments o Share research to help other cities in things like public health and policing etc. o Substantial international role Thematic Professional organizations like Clerks and Treasurers of municipalities International FCM could fall under this heading Other smaller associations o Association of Northern Cities Prince George is the only Canadian member of this association o Climate change organizations with municipal components Sometimes ordinary professional associations that enable municipal members to expand their scope

Annotated Bibliography

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New Due dates: Bibliography now due next FRIDAY Paper still due Nov 14, but can hand in up until the 18th with no late penalties, after the 18th regular late penalties apply, no essay accepted after the 25th. If you are having trouble with finding 10 sources related to your more narrow topic feel free to look at other sources that may be part of the broader sphere. Eg. Revitalization of Chinatowns can look at some examples from other countries or general heritage preservation, other things around Chinatowns are there importance etc. Annotation can include that there is no particular scholarly analysis, but that it does provide some background or primary resources. Core of analysis will still be scholarly material, but it can be anything and apply it to your moral local concerns. For online access of journals, dont put in URL information, he knows how to find them online himself, please treat it as you would a print journal MUST include page numbers in all in text citations, but footnotes are preferable. With in text block citations, please give an extra line before and after the block Annotations Talk about the usefulness of the item to your paper. Go beyond saying: it will be really useful because its got this kind of information. If you are talking about an argument, address how you will use the argument etc. The more texture in you annotated bibliography, the better. Show that youve read and understand the the sources Other notes Check WebCT for further info. MUST read the file online of writing papers o 1. Thesis statements o 2. Hierarchy of sources

o 3. 25 picky points about essay writing NEVER EVER EVER USE THE WORD: its, this is a contraction write the whole thing, dont be an idiot and use it instead of its either.

When discussing a general argument thats not on particular page, you would cite, and then add PASSIM at the end, which means the argument is present throughout the piece, or a range of page numbers if its from a particular section.

Provincial-Municipal Relations

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Bussing discussion People arent getting their licenses later if at all Limit of time people are willing to spend commuting, mo matter the method, is about 1 hour Better transit systems and times may not change as many people who are already drivers, but longer-term, fewer people will get there drivers license, cars etc. LORINC Toronto is almost ungovernable, and may lose its attractiveness as a place to live and work Falling into decay because governments are not able to come to decisions o E.g. Poor transit options cost 6 billion dollars a year in lost productivity Amalgamations Conception of what is a municipality and how it might work o One would hope that provinces wouldnt allow municipalities to become a negative impact on the province o There are differences between the provinces in how they govern municipalities Background o Provincial governments have complete constitutional authority over municipalities can change, create or eliminate them o Relationship between municipalities and provinces through associations that are set up through provincial legislation to help ensure an easy working relationship A) British Columbia o No provincial pressure to amalgamate municipalities o There have been amalgamations, usually at the request of member municipalities, based on a negotiated agreement Abbotsford in the 1990s, Vancouver in 1920s o Regional Districts have originally been designed akin to counties in Ontario, but different existing relationships in practice

B) Winnipeg o 1st Canadian post-war amalgamation o 25 years after, many provisions had been dismantled, except for new city boundaries o no one learned any lessons from it Toronto amalgamation probably wouldnt have happened if they had better studies Winnipeg o Voluntary amalgamations of centre and outside suburbs, which were much smaller in relation to the centre Free loader incentive for amalgamation o Winnipeg commissioned a study in the late 1950s that recommended some form of linkage Decided to go for a single, versus two-tier government 1971 19 areas come into Winnipeg early 1970s, new NDP provincial government with urban strength and a stronger urban focus, shift from rural to urban meant a better working relationship with municipalities agreed to the municipalities request to change the relevant legislation Unicity Increased council size to 50+ mayor (very big, especially for population) Set up 13 community councils to prepare local budgets and consult local groups then submit plans to central government Legislation established an almost parliamentary system and a party system Contrary to recommendations, the mayor was still elected on a city-wide vote, non-parliamentary style Reduced council to 29, community councils to 6 and the influence of local advisory boards 1992 council down to 15 members, and only 3 come from the central area

o o o

central area is where most of the citys challenges are located 5 community councils eliminated local advisory boards o returned to a system akin to what we see elsewhere in Canada, and what they had prior to amalgamation, except for city limits C) Toronto o More complex than Winnipeg, even old Toronto result of amalgamations and absorbed border communities, now part of the urban centre o In 1920s city stopped absorbing border communities until the o o end of WWII, so they established new municipalities Relationship between the cities increased the pressure to look for alternatives 1953 2nd tied municipality of MetroToronto responsible for coordinating all municipal services in mandate, which was quite limited at the start representative indirectly elected of member councils MetroTorontos powers slowly increased, and aquired corresponding political powers, and taxation rights 1960s public inquiries about what to do about relationship between MetroToronto and memebers 1967 provincial royal commission on greater conosolodation 1980s economic restructuring in light of globalization refurbished gentrification of older industrial areas new industrialization happended just outside Toronto boudaries

o o

taxes were lowerr depended on trucking (vs. rail) that needed highwayds that didnt exist in the city centre new push to establish regional council for the GTA o proposals for increased conoslodation were shelved and ignored, repeatedly o 1990s NDP provincial government appointed Ann Golden to head a commission to look at some final recomendatiosn for how to deal with the Toronto issue o 1995 Coservatices (Mike Harris) elected and held opposing view of how to handle the Toronot issue Small government, low intervention Campagined on a small government ticket to reach a decision on Toronto and didnt like the Golden taskforce, or the approach it represented Harris eliminated municipalities MetroToronto and its memeber municipalities, and replaced them with the single city of Toronto Aim to reduce government size and increase efficiency and save money by decreasing dupplication and redundancy D) Toronto-consequences o North York, York, East York, Toronto, Scarborough, Etobicoke, amalgamated by the province o No cost-saving, or government size reductions resulted Council size stayed about the same, because there was a certain natural limit about the size of the wards o Renaming of many streets First responders need continuity to ensure they go to the correct place street duplication etc. Businesses associated with there street names, needed to change all that information, affected business identity Long protracted debate about street name change o Leveling-up

Harris government argued that it would bring all the union employees together and would result in a better collective bargaining system City of Toronto paid their staff more than all the other cities Once all put together, nobody in any union, is going to bargain down, so all bargained up to match Toronto Costs ended up going up re. union costs o Councillors will vigorously defend the interests of their wards Rather than a big happy family, there is a complex, contentious, faction-laden process Eg. All of old-Toronto voted for one mayoral candidate (more central, former Liberal), all others voted for Rob Ford, very clear electoral divide between the 2 parts of the city o Didnt take into account Mississauga and other cities north of Toronto, so they are drawing much of the business, and residential investment due to different cost structures Still must rely on the infrastructure, much of which is funded by amalgamated Toronto E)Montreal o Island municipalities amalgamated - 2002 o Done for linguistic and nationalist reasons, unlike in Ontario o Strong opposition in the city, and when the provincial government changed to the Liberal party, they promised that pre-existing cities could de-amalgamate, and some did BC no attempts to force amalgamations from the province, satisfied with the option of the regional districts

Federal-Municipal Relations Background o No constitutional jurisdiction, but must be aware of the affects that the federal government has on municipalities (taxation, international agreements etc) o Feds use municipalities as tools to achieve federal policites

Opposition to insite, stimulus spending CMHC - Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

o Crown corporation federal government o Est in 1946 1. Stimulate the Canadian economy post WWII so it didnt slide into a post-war recession or depression, like it did after WWI didnt want CCF to get any stronger a foothold wanted to avoid slipping back into the great depression 2. With the demobilization of troops, the federal government was anxious to find jobs for the returning military people Shift economic activity into the urban area, as the Canadian economy (depression through end of war) had already undergone a major transformation to an urban society Farming economy had reached its limits Building houses in cities met many of these goals Provided jobs Stimulated economy Provided housing near where the city jobs were to be found o CMHC created to shift it out of the immediate control of the federal government, to not anger provinces CMHC, not the federal government that engaged itself in the provinces o Stimulated house construction and purchasing 1. Guaranteed mortgages new industrial workers (many soldiers) could get a mortgage to buy the houses worked closely with banks to ensure that mortgages would be available 2. Standardized residential construction requirements and rules 3. Worked with municipalities to make more land available extending services and utilities etc.

o Materials for construction could be provided relatively locally, and produced by Canadian manufacturers o As a package, and enormous federal government program to use residential housing to stimulate the Canadian economy o How the CMHC has changed over time Started as a mega construction oversight organization and mortgage guarantor 1940s-50s research about the relationship between people and where they live demographics, who buys houses, why people dont buy houses etc. 1950s-60s onwards broadly described as social programs that worked with existing social programs that were focused directly on housing development of co-op housing, channeled federal money to support social housing to address social concerns that the CMHC has identified about the relationship between people and their housing from earlier research plan neighborhoods around particular demographic groups 1960s-70s in addition to its role as sponsoring economic stimulus, it had also become a social agency around the social aspects of housing

MSUA

Growth Machines

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History History of boosterism wanted to establish themselves as the new centre for Western Canada o Mostly about economic development businesses and the ability to sell land, economic growth makes land more valuable, which means people make more money when they sell it Boosterism today still exists as a promotional emphasis, but has less of a frontier attitude Unlike other capital, real estate is not mobile, so other things need to happen to advance its value increase the demand Ideology of Growth cities are seen as opportunities for growth, and growth will benefit the general society Proponents of growth (landholders) view city hall as the body that can enhance the value of the land, so they would lobby it o Often around access roads and services extended to industrial land Critique: growth doesnt necessarily benefit everyone, because increased influence of landowners, means others have less. Low income people who are unable to become landowners as land value goes up Institutional Setting Idea of the city as a mechanism to serve property, and its main function is to provide services, not that the municipalities are about income distribution etc o Evident in tax system, as most of city revenue come from property taxes o Tax system leads to a priority of responding to the needs of property owners Try to keep residential taxes low, and increase them on business properties, but this is where chambers of commerce and other business organization Development fees take advantage of economic growth to balance their budget when they have a low residential property tax

o Most cities get a substantial part of their budget from development charges, but they only get this money if the economy is growing, and people are developing o Incentive to respond to requests from the business community to enhance the citys attractiveness to business, and keep residential property taxes low Both city and businesses want the economy to grow, but for slightly different reasons City will try to promote an increase in business character in a community, as businesses go up market, the property becomes more valuable

Vancouver experience o Emphasis on condos and increased density, and city has become unfriendly to children, young people, young families, most condo prices are prohibitive to the average family o Couples need to start a family they need to move to the suburbs, and this changes the character of the city core o Institutional setting has the long-term consequence of dramatically changing the nature of the city Federal and Provincial Governments How governments want to use the city for economic growth Major events (olympics etc) used to promote the city Immigration has the same effect of promoting the city internationally o Immigration rate set by the federal government o Type of immigrants somewhat controlled by provincial governments Variations: City as an Idea Machine City as an image machine o Promotes itself by creating an image Invest in establishing a brand, and identifying certain characteristics of itself o Mayors go into image damage control when there is a high profile negative event within a city TOURISM as a major economic engine, and cities want to attract the most tourist dollars possible o International ranking of cities

Vancouver campaign against its no-fun city label Creative class attraction o Internationally mobile class of people whose economic productivity is directly a result of their own skills they carry with them Knowledge economy: software designers, music engineers, architects, people who can work on a computer and send their product anywhere, they dont have to live where they sell They are going to want to live in desirable places Gay people constitute a large portion of this class, and

cities that could make themselves safe and attractive for this group, would be successful in attracting more people Universities and other post secondary institutions in the area Attracts a certain type of worker and a stable economic sector, with long term guarantees Regional hospitals with a specific focus on a certain type of medicine that would make the region destination for research, education etc. related to that sector Environmental machines o Arguement by prof: greenest city really an economic/image venture, may different kind of economic growth, but still economic growth None of this depends on the democratic structures in the city, all lobby between different groups and decision makers

Marxism

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Intro Scientific way of looking at class struggle 2 social classes o working o capitalist Predicted class warfare because they had conflicting interests and values Modern: everything, down to gender relations are determined because we live in a capitalist society State o Surface characteristic of capitalist society Epiphenomenon Didnt interact with capitalist society, because it was there to MANAGE the capitalist society o State as nothing more than a management boards for capitalist society, interests are so tied up, that they dont have the perspective to see things differently Local governments seen as part of the state apparatus, but dont so anything differently Basic Tour Depression context analysis capitalist society no a uniform thing, but is divided into various segments that compete with each other o Neo-Marxists call these fragments Capitalist class is not uniform, and there is competition between theses fragments, it is necessary for the state to manage the relations between these fragments Looked at state/capitalists society relationship Semi-autonomous state Fate of society still bound up with the fate of capitalist society State committed to survival of capitalist system and will intervene to save it

Semi-autonomus states will do many kinds of things to rescue capitalist system o 1. Late 19th, early 20th century needed to supply a labour force, that had more specific skills education system developed to provided training for the labour force helping out capitalist system by taking on the costs of education the labour force needed to work for it o 2. Healthcare systems keep working classes satisfied so the capitalist society

can keep chugging along and continue to acumulate capital Position of Local Government Homelessness equilibrium between social costs and the opportunity of owners of capital to continue to aquire capital Fitting into the management of the capitalist system roll Overall statement management of a capitalist economy in order to increase capital increasing powers o Eg. Olympics, Expo Entertaining public while part of a process of increasing capital for capitalist classes Vancouver o The way in which property is owned Shift in mid 1980s from real estate being a local commodity is traded on the international market Dramatic increase in real estate Why are there disadvantaged groups? Where is there a growing rich-poor gap Critique Possible to use Marxism as a tool for almost any argument you want o Pro-population

o Pro-elite Multiple theoretical frameworks to explain how local governments work o Democracy o Growth machine o Marxism Importance of Marxist argument: looking at what the sate is doing to maintain the capitalist system

Feminism

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Cities look the way they do because the decisions are made by men, and thus serve their interests and objectives Definition Ideology about social change Analytic perspective for looking at decisions and change Patriarchy o Needs to be challenged to make decisions o Not all women conduct politics as feminists Personal Is Political Much of personal life is also political, because political decision govern personal life choices, options, relationships etc. Variations Liberal view o Access to the kinds of opportunities and institutional positions that were historically only available to men o Not necessarily complete, but large changes in the last 50 years Marxism Feminists o Capitalist system itself has been established and designed and motivated by a masculine of way of looking at the world and relationships o To challenge patriarchy would also challenge the capitalist system Social Democratic o See the liberal aspect of access to opportunity as important, but also a need to change social relationships (employment etc.) Environmental Feminists o Relationship between people and the natural environment is determined by the patriarchy

o Out there to be used for the benefit of people, particularly to generate wealth and establish power Political Control Institutional set up Political Practice o Conduct in meetings and in politics o Strong language, inflammatory, type of debate Selection of candidates and the role of leaders in political debate gives emphasis to men o Municipal politics sometimes considered an easier way to entre because of geographical considerations o Women still dont participate at the proportional level to population Social and personal sphere o Less today than before, men are still overwhelmingly in control of society (religion, politics, business, volunteer groups, academia) o Families and personal relationships

Critique of Urban Analysis Idea of the state as a neutral platform where all groups can attempt to get their goals achieved, in a feminist perspective, the state is not a neutral platform. Esp important when it comes to the role of interest groups Voting behaviors o Men and women tend to favor different political outcomes Public transit in suburbs o When families often only had one car, and women could only get to where they could walk in the suburbs o Roads>public transit favoured men because they were the ones with the cars

o Creation of suburbs post WWII Anti-woman in that it removed the opportunities and choices from participating more broadly in urban communities Research Agenda How cities make spatial decisions and manage land (see suburbs) o Housing types and configuration

Post Colonialism

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Objective Definition & Background Laws decided upon in the UK Government imposed on people from London Sense of cultural superiority Post-colonial o End of WWII, when euro empires began to break down Long-term lasting effects of racism etc and how we think about racism o Directed both along lines of skin colour, but also by Europeans against other Europeans Presence in Canada Aboriginal People Still colonized, esp in BC, because most land was never officially ceded via treaty Multi/Interculturalism Multi o Idea of fragmented society where there are different cultures that dont interact Inter o More mature society where there is a presence of different cultures, and some sort of interaction, high level of interaction between groups Requires that municiple gvoernments are sentivie to an attuned to what is going on in the community, and be sensitive to what i

Citizenship act of 1947 - first Canadian citizenship act and extended citizenship to non-European, and non-indigenous origined Canadians

Rules not totally liberated until the 1960s when the point system was introduced, prior aimed at slowing immigration from non-white countries

The changing nature of people taking control of their own lives, a work that Canada is working on, but needs to continue to work on Continues to have a legacy of cultural superiority, racism etc, just look at online newspaper comment threads Spatial relationships that exist in Canadian cities Talk about certain parts of environment characterized by certain ethnic groups Views on history of Canada and municipalities and what the focus of history is, and how that history is told When we talk about Vancouver history, whose history are we talking about? How Canadians have sought to achieve an equal society regardless of ethnic background, starting with multiculturalism policy of 1971

Budgeting

09/09/2011 21:01:00

Expenditure What cities spend as services to property o Roads, transportation, infrastructure, police, fire o Water, sewage, garbage, recycling etc. o Enhancement of urban environment (street lights etc) o Services to people that are indirect services to property, in that they make cities desirable places to live and thus increase property value (libraries, parks etc) Complexity o Cities are now expected to pay for things that were never part of the original city budgets Managing criminal law (set up by federal government) Homelessness Drug addiction o International Competition Festivals, support for the arts Issues Tax-sharing between residents and businesses o If income mostly from property tax, important to address this relationship o Limited benefits from economic growth Most taxes from growth go to the provincial and federal governments through their tax regimes Competition for space o Limited undeveloped space o Difficulty in finding places to increase revenue

Federal Relationship o Uses municipalities as tools to manage the national economy Demand that municipalities also make contributions to costs of infrastructure Many munis dont have the space in the budget to pay for their share of programs Distorts budgets in order to meet investment obligations o Federal programs aimed at infrastructure, but in municipalities are looking at social issues or increasing international position, federal programs pull them back to pro-property approaches o Security Increased policing costs Public health Increased travel = increased disease mobility and

risk E.g. SARS outbreak in Toronto, shutting down city Provincial governments have a large role in protecting urban areas. BC did things that Ontario did not, so cities in Ontario ended up taking on more responsibility Municipal costs for health security increased o Climate change Dangers to low-lying cities/areas of cities with increasing sea levels Central responsibility rests with the federal government o Transit Hands off position in Canada Participatory Budget Porto Alegre o Government didnt like the way the budget had been prepared

o City where the world social forum meets Process o Councils for each sector which would consult with districts on how the budget allocated to that district would be spent o Some things that still needed admin by central council (water, main roads, sewage, police) o each of the 16 districts would be able to decide how that $ would be spent in their area public assemblies would then decide if they want to use the money for environmental sanitation, traffic management, social welfare and health etc Canadian Response o Ottawa Clive Doucet 49% wanted more money on transit, 19% on roads next year 4x more money on ROADS, no more money on transit o Vancouver Pseudo participation, at the very end of the budgetary process By this point it has gone through the bureaucracy and through council before hand, where they ensure they have their needs me Consultation more lip service, less central to the process and end result Results o In PA, more money on housing, and education, less on permanent infrastructure

Different models of budgeting, less so of a standard procedure We may think that theyre all the same

o Budgetary secrecy before hand o Very bureaucratically developed Hard to make the same argument for municipal budgets, o They probably wont endanger the Canadian currency, stock markets or economy Municipal budgets should probably be more consultative than they actually are Municipalities are closest geographically, but perhaps not politically Budgeting not just an accounting process Yes, an accounting statement Also political processes, not just financial ones Question the nature of the political process o About the population and there needs, or other purposes driving decisions More than just the admin process of spending money in certain ways o About how needs are viewed, interpreted and addressed Budgets as a critique about how we see local democracies Provincial instruments for the management of property values?

Cultural Diversity

09/09/2011 21:01:00

Aboriginal People and Municipalities Required new administrative mechanisms for municipalities to work in a way to govern the entire community Constitutional Background Royal Proclomation Treaty only way to buy aboriginal land, not by individuals The Saskatchewan Experience