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Hugh Mackenzie and Todd Scarth assess Winnipeg’s New Deal package. The authors argue that the New Deal plan lacks focus. They propose an alternative approach that identifies a clear and overriding services renewal goal of at least $140 million, and sets out a package of changes to raise the revenue needed to achieve that goal.

The purpose of Casey Vander Ploeg’s study is to identify various alternatives for financing municipal infrastructure and closing infrastructure deficits. To address this issue, she explores the drivers of the infrastructure problem and examines the ability of traditional financing options, innovative options, and systemic reform of municipal finance.

Increased funding responsibilities for Canadian cities, reduced provincial grants, and a corresponding increase in reliance on own-source revenues over the past 12 to 15 years have changed the fiscal environment in which cities now operate. At the same time, Harry Kitchen argues, cities have become increasingly important players in the competitive global economy.

Friesen and Leo examine changes proposed in fall 2003 to Winnipeg’s zoning regulations – changes which , they point out, will require many new businesses to apply for rezoning before launching new commercial outlets in industrial areas.

In this brief Fraser Alert, Mark Mullins addresses the issue of cities and their fiscal standing in our federal system.

In Whistler and the World: The Funding of Ski Resort Municipalities, Casey Vander Ploeg and Roger Gibbins of the Canada West Foundation explore municipal revenues in resort municipalities by focusing on one such community: Whistler, British Columbia.

Stephen Easton argues that the cultivation and production of marijuana in British Columbia highlights the problems inherent in enforcing laws that are generally ignored by broad sectors of the populace.

In this article Dr. John R. Allen discusses Saskatchewan's heavy reliance on educational property tax to fund K-12 education in the province. Allen considers alternative ways to fund K-12 education as well as restructuring methods.

This paper is based on a presentation by Brian Lee Crowley and Bruce Winchester to the Subcommittee on Fiscal Imbalance of the Standing Committee on Finance. According to Crowley and Winchester, commentators and provincial governments contend that a fiscal imbalance exists between Ottawa and the provinces: a mismatch between what the two levels of government are called to do under the Constitution, and the fiscal resources they enjoy to carry out those responsibilities.

Casey Vander Ploeg says the property tax debate has raged for years: proponents argue that property taxes are insufficient to meet the growing fiscal needs of today’s large cities; critics contend that property taxes are too high and are increasing the cost of living and doing business.

In this Alternative Budget, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) presents its version of the Manitoba provincial budget for 2003-04. The CCPA argues that since being elected in 1999, the NDP’s fiscal approach has been characterized by extreme caution.

In this paper, Jonathan R. Kesselman reviews tax changes in Canada and suggests how future alterations to tax policy could make the Canadian economy more competitive and diverse.

In Toronto's Revenue Crisis: A Made at Queen's Park Problem That's Only Going to Get Worse, Hugh Mackenzie, of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, argues that Toronto’s budget problems are a direct result of actions taken by the Ontario government. According to Mackenzie, the provincial government’s municipal tax policy essentially freezes Toronto’s revenue, causing the City to lose access to 63 percent of its available tax base. The problem, as detailed by Mackenzie, is Bill 140, which defines a ‘tax ratio’ for municipal properties, in turn affecting the tax returns of municipalities. Cities such as Toronto, Mackenzie concludes, must fight the issue vociferously with the Government of Ontario in order to regain their revenue powers and avoid cutting crucial programs and services.

According to Peter Holle and Dennis Owens, authors of the Frontier Centre report Fixing Winnipeg’s Downtown, Winnipeg has never lived up to its economic potential. Dismissing evolving geographical and historical forces as the reason for this fact, the authors blame provincial and municipal economic policies they say have restricted Winnipeg’s economic growth. If, Holle and Owens assert, these policies can be addressed and reformed, then the City of Winnipeg can revive its downtown, experience increased economic growth, and attract the quality human capital that is necessary in today’s knowledge economy.

In this Frontier Centre paper Peter Holle and Daniel Klymchuk compare property tax levels in major Canadian cities, using the data to evaluate the relative residential tax burden in Winnipeg. Any comparison of taxation levels between jurisdictions is troublesome, the authors note, because differing economic conditions may distort the effects of taxation. To overcome this problem Holle and Klymchuk use effective property tax rates (rates relative to market value) and absolute tax burdens (utility charges, taxes relative to income and taxation per square foot) to make their comparisons.

Robert L. Bish discusses the impact that property taxes can have on the number of new businesses that invest in a particular geographic area, as well as the success rate of those already situated in the jurisdiction.

This article, written by William B.P. Robson, analyzes the oft-discussed issue of Canada’s ageing population and its effects on the country’s ability to fund the public health care system. Robson points out (using demographic projections) that the twin phenomena of a retiring baby boom generation and a shrinking tax base are sure to affect the ability to raise the revenue needed to fund the system in the future.

In this e-brief, Goldfarb and Robson argue that Canada’s business investment is essential if Canadian living standards are to increase, and that Canadian workers need the infrastructure resulting from increased investment in order to facilitate that growth. Goldfarb and Robson measured both national and provincial investment performance against the performance of other industrialized countries.

In 1993-94, the Alberta Government implemented major policy changes involving the control, taxing, and distribution of liquor products. These changes included: the privatization of the retail and warehousing functions; switching from an ad valorem (percentage of price) to a unit (flat) tax system of alcohol excise taxes; and, the migration from direct control of liquor regulation to a legislative and enforcement approach.

This is a book-length publication, edited by Richard M. Bird, which contains six articles relating to public governance. Bird argues it is critical for Canadians to understand how different political institutions can affect policy; accordingly, these essays explore a number of different political institutions and processes. As Bird points out, people care about results, not just the process of getting to results. Political institutions and processes, however, have a major impact on the behaviour of politicians and the outcome that results from their conduct.

In this report Mintz and Smart make the case for fundamental reform in the delivery of federal development assistance to Atlantic Canada. They contend the federal government should replace existing grants and tax credits to businesses with broad-based corporate tax reduction in the region. They suggest that existing grant programs are well-intentioned, but poorly targeted.

In this report on natural resource revenue in Saskatchewan, John Warnock heavily criticizes both the Tory provincial government (prior to 1991) and the NDP provincial government that followed it for not capitalizing on the economic potential of natural resources.

This article by Jason Clemens, Joel Emes and Nadeem Esmail examines the challenges faced by Saskatchewan, offering both short- and long-term policy recommendations. Their main short-term recommendations are to privatize government business enterprises (GBEs, which are akin to Crown Corporations), use the proceeds from these privatizations to reduce the debt, and then to use the accumulated savings to finance the lowering of business taxes. Among their longer-term recommendations: shrinking the size of Saskatchewan’s government, and the continuing privatization of government business enterprises.

Big City Revenue Sources: A Canada-U.S. Comparison of Municipal Tax Tools and Revenue Levers, by Casey Vander Ploeg of the Canada West Foundation, contributes to the debate over the fiscal squeeze facing Canadian cities by exploring the tax tools and revenue levers available to Canadian cities and comparing these to tools and levers available to American cities.

In his paper, Richard Bird explores the issues around the taxation of e-commerce, and examines the matter in a Canadian context.