Constitutional Space for Cities

Cities are drivers of the world’s economy:  they are home for most of the world’s population and create a large percentage of its’ wealth.  Nevertheless, municipal governments struggle to invest in appropriate infrastructures and necessary services, leading to considerable gaps in affordable housing, public transit, and social services.  This conference, on “Constitutional Space for Cities” and its’ associated papers, will seek to understand and explain why … and propose paths forward for Cities in Canada.

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Many have suggested that Cities’ legal vulnerability has prevented them from engaging in long term financial or social planning.  Because they depend on support from other governments (provincial, state, regional, and federal), Cities are unable to fully develop long-term programs and infrastructure.  Cities struggle to respond to their communities’, such as climate change and massive social inequalities.

The diagnosis that Cities (particularly those in Canada) suffer from their “low” constitutional status is not new.  The traditional axiom that “municipalities are creatures of the province” has been at the core of legal and constitutional understanding for several decades.   In recent years, whether after forced amalgamations or imposed governance changes, there have been calls for change, calls for constitutional amendment, and calls for “City Charters”.  These demands are ultimately asking, “what are Cities for, how do we measure their success, and whether international models can serve as inspiration”?  The answers to these questions aim to reimagine the legal and administrative design of the Canadian constitutional order.