Day 2 Recap
Innovation in Cities around the World
How are cities around the world innovating to keep pace with the needs of their people? What are the world’s success stories? Are their successes transferable to other cities, specifically here in Canada? Panellists will highlight some of the world’s great advances in municipal governance.
Moderator
Alexandra Flynn, Assistant Professor, Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia
Panellists
Erika Arban, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Laureate Programme in Comparative Constitutional Law, University of Melbourne
Annika Kress, Researcher, Institute for Comparative Federalism, EURAC Research
Gabriella Saputelli, Researcher, Institute for the Study of Regionalism, Federalism, and Self-Government, National Research Council in Rome
Rich Schragger, Professor, School of Law, University of Virginia
Evolution of the Legal and the Political Treatment of Cities
This session explores questions such as: what makes a geographical grouping a “city”? How did the evolution of the relationship among cities, provinces, and First Nations evolve? How have various tensions been resolved and/or exacerbated since Confederation, both legally and politically?
Moderator
Senator Ratna Omidvar, Senate of Canada
Panellists
Kristin Good, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Dalhousie University
Mariana Valverde, Professor of Criminology, University of Toronto
Patricia Wood, Professor – Graduate Programme Director, Geography, York University
History of Cities in Canada
This session explores questions such as the legal history of cities as “creatures” of provincial legislation; the pre- and post-Confederation meaning of “municipal institutions”, and the historical taxation powers of municipalities.
Moderator
Simon Archer, Partner at Goldblatt Partners LLP
Panellists
Jean-Christophe Bédard-Rubin, R. Roy McMurtry Fellow of the Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto
Almos Tassonyi, Executive Fellow, School of Public Policy, University of Calgary
Mary Eberts, Senior Fellow, Massey College
Mary Stokes, Lawyer, Legge & Legge, Toronto
Cities & the Architecture of Rights
The Brazilian Constitution recognizes that cities have social functions they must discharge for the well-being of their residents. This constitutional innovation in Brazil has implications for the construction of public spaces, the types of public monuments cities create, and for prioritizing anti-racist strategies in urban planning. Panellists in this conversation will discuss the social justice dimensions of city powers in Brazil.
Moderator
Ceta Ramkhalawansingh, (former) City Councillor, City of Toronto
Panellists
Miguel Calman Dantas, Professor, Political Science and Constitutional Law, Unversidade Federal de Bahia
Marina Costa Esteves Coutinho, PhD Candidate, School of Government and International Affairs Durham University
Cities, Regionalism, Fiscal Responsibilities, and Intergovernmental Arrangements
Money matters. How to imagine municipalities with the financial means to carry out their mandates, while recognizing obligations with less wealthy regions? Are there models of equalization that could support the recognition of regional or national interdependencies, without sacrificing municipal autonomy? Are there avenues in current intergovernmental arrangements to protect cities’ abilities to carry out their functions in an effective way? This session will focus on potential solutions to the existing fiscal imbalances.
Moderator
Enid Slack, Director, Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance, Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto
Panellists
Giovanna Tieghi, Adjunct Professor, School of Law, University of Padua
Mary Janigan, Journalist & Historian, Toronto
Remi Poirot, PhD Student in Public Law, Sorbonne Law School, University of Paris
Daniel Beland, Professor, Department of Political Science, McGill University
Mayors Panel II -
Cities & the Tools for the Job
What difference would new legislative powers and new revenue tools make to the capacity of Canada’s cities to solving our most pressing challenges, like climate change, housing, poverty, mental health, the recovery of local economies, and the municipal revenue base?
Moderator
Mary W. Rowe, President & CEO, Canadian Urban Institute
Panellists
Mayor Don Iveson, Edmonton, Alberta
Mayor Brian Bowman, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Mayor Bonnie Crombie, Mississauga, Ontario