Colonialism and Local Democracy in Canada

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Part 1: Short Answers
* Briefly explain how colonialism is related to the history of local government in Canada. Why does this history matter for our understanding of local politics today?
Assuming control was the key objective when Europeans set foot on Canadian soil in the late 15th century. They took over territories and started to impose new systems of governance, religion, and laws. As a result, they dominated the local people culturally, politically, and economically. For easy governance, the British colonies formed colonies in conjunction with newly elected local leaders. Over time, the colonial legislatures introduced laws that saw establishing a public school system and reorganization of municipal government. In Canada, the founding interpretations of local governance are based solely on the tradition of British colonialists. In their administration of the dependencies, colonialists created special organs of administration, and such organs reflected certain levels of authority. At the top were senior government officials, and at the bottom of the hierarchy were colonies’ representatives. The first formal municipality in Canada was introduced in 1785 in Saint John, New Brunswick. Its introduction marked a new era in local governance. By 1835, the British parliament introduced the Municipal Corporation Act which allowed for a “local democracies” system with its local bylaws, elections, and taxes (6).
Later in 1867, The Baldwin Act was instituted to allow for municipal incorporation as well as helping the colonial government decentralize and expand its colonial territories (Sanction 17). Today, while many municipalities are considered “creatures of the province,” most are older than Canada and the provinces considering that Canada became a country in 1867. The decentralization continued post-colonialism, and today Canada has an established order of governance, namely the federal, provincial, and municipal, with over 3700 municipal governances established so far. The provincial and municipal are vital sub-divisions that have eased governance and enhanced the coordination and planning between local and national governments. Our understanding of how colonialism is related to the history of local government in Canada is matters a lot (Sanction 19). Local governments represent the community, and understanding and improving local governance through historical perspectives offers us the unique opportunity to identify the community needs and ensure that such requirements are met in the most appropriate way possible.
* Why do cities need to balance their budgets? Discuss this question from a historical perspective and in relation to Canadian federalism.
Cities have a duty to balance their budgets to offer the best value in terms of service provision and infrastructural development. Over the years, the central government has always raised more tax revenue than local governments such as cities or municipalities, which raise less than they spend. As a result, cities collect less and are typically forced to rely on provisional and federal transfers. With huge expenditures, most cities have budgetary deficits and are limited from borrowing; there is the need to remain budget-conscious (Sanction 10). The significant gaps and transfers needed to bridge these gaps strain the sovereign rule that each level of government is sovereign on its spheres. Over the years, demographic changes have resulted in a dampening growth of government revenues and consequently spending higher on programs, especially at the local level.
As such, efficiency in service delivery requires spending restraints through balanced budgets. Evidence indicates that budget deficit is a politically accepted measure for both national and provinces to avoid hard budget constraints. For Canadian cities, borrowing either locally or at the national level is never viable to address existing budget constraints unless funds borrowed are meant for capital investment (Sanction 78). Demographic pressures are constantly persisting, and the idea of trying to solve a persistent problem with debt will not only mount pressure on the increased interest payment but also exhaust the willingness of potential lenders. Cities need to balance their budgets by adopting more durable budget management measures, mainly through spending control.
Part 2: Questions
* Why are cities in Canada constrained financially/fiscally? Discuss the state of municipal government and social services provision in Canada currently and how it has changed over time (draw from multiple weeks of the course in your answer).
Introduction
Most cities in Canada are not in fiscal crisis but are financially constrained. For example, the city of Toronto, which has a strong financial footing and a diversified economy, still struggles with major structural shortfalls that have slightly reduced its efficiency in delivering social services. The key challenges resulting from existing structural shortfalls, as seen in Toronto and other cities, include the lack of finances to improve the city’s expanding infrastructure, overall inability to advance the city’s economic competitiveness consistently, and the inability to address some of the most persistent economic and social disparities. This is the case with several other cities. The financial constraints seem to be mounting pressure on cities to adopt austerity measures and drop the older budgeting and service pro...