Municipal Affairs & Economic Development

M U N I C I P A L   A F F A I R S  &  E C O N O M I C   D E V E L O P M E N T

Even though news cycles do not pay as much attention to municipal policies, many of the most important policy decisions that affect Canadians and their families most directly are made at the municipal level. AIMS research on Municipal Affairs focuses on identifying the policy choices that help cities and towns thrive and develop economically and which ones lead to stagnation and decline.

This research area also deals with one of the most important objectives of public policy – to enable Economic Development and growth. Given the fiscal challenges we face in our region, and the social challenges flowing from rates of poverty and unemployment that are above the national average, the need for pro-growth economic policy in Atlantic Canada is especially urgent.

POLICY PAPERS & OP-ED COMMENTARIES

Atlantic Canada, Justin Trudeau’s new Liberal base

Originally printed in the C2C Journal. The electoral influence of Atlantic Canada has been diluted with the addition of 30 seats to the House of Commons because none of them will be in the Atlantic region. But the region’s 32 seats still matter in a close three-way, country-wide race between ...

Do City Rankings Carry any Real Value?

Is Toronto the world’s best city? That’s what the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) calculates after assessing a number of cities around the world. Here’s the kicker pick; Montreal came in second out of a list of 25 cities including Amsterdam, Tokyo, Paris, Zurich and Taipei. Putting Toronto on top may ...

Doorknob Ban Isn’t an Open-and-Shut Solution

Vancouver’s recently passed legislation outlawing round doorknobs for new construction, favouring protruding levers instead, seems enlightened and compassionate toward those with limited manual dexterity such as the elderly. Coun. Jennifer Watts promises similar enlightenment for Haligonians. Perhaps less impressive is the ideological motivation of progress. For some, the thought of ...

Maritime Morning: AIMS President & CEO on News 95.7 discussing the NS budget

AIMS President & CEO Charles Cirtwill and Christine Saulnier from the CCPA-NS joined News 95.7's Jordi Morgan on Maritime Morning to chat about the NS provincial budget. Click here to listen to the interview! ...

A Proposed Municipal Income Tax System

AIMS President & CEO Charles Cirtwill, CCPA-NS research associate Dr. Michael Bradfield and NS Chambers of Commerce Executive Director Wayne Fiander joined together at a public event in Halifax, NS to discuss the alternatives to the flawed property tax system , including a proposed municipal income tax system.Click here to ...
MEDIA MENTIONS

Does Nova Scotia stifle innovation?

In 2013 a Halifax-based Mentorcamp, which matches mentors with startup companies, invited Haukur Gu_jónsson, the founder of a website based in Iceland called Bungalo, to come to Halifax for a ...

UNSM Must Find Way Out of Property Tax Box

The report, done by respected municipal finances experts Enid Slack and Harry Kitchen, noted “this study does not consider alternatives to the property tax nor does it evaluate the municipal ...

AIMS President Marco Navarro-Genie on HRM’s Doorknob Ban

Vancouver’s recently passed legislation outlawing round doorknobs for new construction, favouring protruding levers instead, seems enlightened and compassionate toward those with limited manual dexterity such as the elderly. Coun. Jennifer ...

Maritime Morning: AIMS President & CEO on News 95.7 discussing the NS budget

AIMS President & CEO Charles Cirtwill and Christine Saulnier from the CCPA-NS joined News 95.7's Jordi Morgan on Maritime Morning to chat about the NS provincial budget. Click here to ...