POLI 352 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Eastern Canada, Memorandum, Public Choice
15 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
POLI352
February 13th
Amalgamations
Agenda:
-What are Amalgamations?
-Amalgamations and Metropolitan Schools of thought
-Amalgamation Case Studies
-Adopted City Activity
-Discuss Mid-term
-Briefing Note Due Friday
What are Amalgamations?
- Top-down provincial intervention to change municipal boundaries to address the metropolitan
problem
- Law is passed that merges municipalities to create much larger single-tier urban government
- Merging of various urban municipalities with rural municipalities
- A two-tier government created by the provinces might actually become a one-tier
amalgamation government : for example Toronto (look up textbook)
Amalgamations and Metropolitan Schools of Thought
- Same metropolitan schools of thought apply to debates about amalgamation, particularly:
o Reformist/Consolidationist (centrist)- pro-amalgamation –pro-regional government.
There’s this idea that this urban area needs an integrated government to deal with
those integrated issues, reformal rules to deal with them. It is the most intrusive option.
o Public choice (Polycentrism) – anti-amalgamation – most democratic---some
progressive movement. Does not want this big government, they believe its not going to
be democratic, that a big government will create unequality—believe in small
government
o New Regionalism – anti-amalgamation, pro informal cooperation – creating bigger
regional government
- Policy makers trapped in old debates between centrism and policycentrism and this is
preventing policy action = the Metropolitan Trap
Amalgamation Case Studies
- Chronology of waves of amalgamations in Eastern Canada in 90s and early 2000s.
o Why Eastern Canada?
o Why during this time period? – neoliberal right wing, and what we see is the federal
government cutting funding in its infrastructure in social housing, giving more of those
roles to the provinces and the provinces would then give it to the municipalities.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Top-down provincial intervention to change municipal boundaries to address the metropolitan problem. Law is passed that merges municipalities to create much larger single-tier urban government. Merging of various urban municipalities with rural municipalities. A two-tier government created by the provinces might actually become a one-tier amalgamation government : for example toronto (look up textbook) Same metropolitan schools of thought apply to debates about amalgamation, particularly: reformist/consolidationist (centrist)- pro-amalgamation pro-regional government. There"s this idea that this urban area needs an integrated government to deal with those integrated issues, reformal rules to deal with them. It is the most intrusive option: public choice (polycentrism) anti-amalgamation most democratic---some progressive movement. Does not want this big government, they believe its not going to be democratic, that a big government will create unequality believe in small government: new regionalism anti-amalgamation, pro informal cooperation creating bigger regional government.
