What’s New at IMFG

The November 29 IMFG event Toronto’s Future: Who’s Paying? The 7th Annual IMFG Toronto City Manager’s Address was advertised in the November 2018 edition of the Municipal World Journal.

IMFG Board Chair Alan Broadbent was awarded the Jane Jacobs Lifetime Achievement Award at the Canadian Urban Institute’s Urban Leadership Awards.

IMFG Fellow Alexandra Flynn discussed the importance of governments considering Indigenous treaties when crafting legislation which affects their communities in an article featured in the National Post. 

IMFG Director Enid Slack presented a lecture entitled, “Global Municipal Finance,” to the students of the Arup Masters Program, part of the Boston University Initiative on Cities and the Questrom School of Business in Boston, Massachusetts.

IMFG Fellow Zack Taylor commented on John Tory’s campaign messaging and its resonance with Toronto voters in the October 22, 2018, municipal election for the Toronto Star piece called, “John Tory unified Toronto – and he can thank Doug Ford for that, experts say.”

In the Toronto Star article, “Stronger community councils can help to get the diverse voices Toronto needs,” IMFG Fellow Alexandra Flynn and former IMFG Visiting Researcher Zachary Spicer’s IMFG Paper (No. 36), Re-imagining Community Councils in Canadian Local Government, was mentioned including its recommendations to allow residents to serve on local councils.

IMFG hosted a seminar for the Toronto Urban Fellows entitled, “Learning Series Session: Fiscal Environment for Cities,” at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.

In the CBC News article, “Diverse Winnipeg city council gives children role models: community leader”, IMFG Fellow Aaron Moore discussed how city councils with diverse members will not necessary change how councils operate but can provide a voice for underrepresented groups.

For the CBC News article entitled, “Was the ranked ballot system the reason for the low voter turnout in London?”, IMFG Fellow Zack Taylor commented on the voting turnout for London, Ontario’s, municipal election.

IMFG Director Enid Slack was featured on CityNews, discussing how local government should depend on their own revenue sources to shape city services, rather than seeking potentially unstable funding from the Province.