According to a recent study by the Frontier Centre for Public Policy Canadian municipal law is characterized by its prescriptive rules-based codes of compliance. That contrasts starkly with modern local government laws of other countries which seek to facilitate best-management practice by setting outcomes rather than rules. The approach of other countries leads to a performance and service-delivery framework designed to effectively and efficiently meet the needs of local taxpayers and residents.

All Canadians rely on a municipality of some kind to provide essential infrastructure, and unlike their dealings with private enterprises, which are disciplined by competition, they face a monopoly for the services that a municipality provides.

The study – Creating proper incentives for Canada’s cities through smart provincial legislation: A best-practice model of local government – compares municipal law in New Zealand with equivalent law in Canada. The New Zealand Act provides for the following:

• It sets local government outcomes that can be achieved within practically based best-practice management processes;
• These include asset and financial long-term planning, consultative process and democratic decision-making

Recommendations and likely results:

• Canada should adopt much of New Zealand’s local government legislation.
• Federal support for local provincial government law reform could be an impetus for change for the provinces. This might take the form of linking federal infrastructure funding to the required improvements in law.

This adoption would have the following results:

• It would improve local government performance. There is no argument that improvements are necessary, as Canadian municipalities score poorly when measured on a number of international performance scales.
• The national economy would benefit directly from local government law reform. Much of the economy’s vital arterial economic lines of production and supply, the nation’s roads and the water and waste-water systems, are owned and managed by the municipalities.

RoadMap:  View entire report as .pdf – 57 pages

Ontario Municipalities have reported on their tangible capital assets and move from a modified accrual format to full accrual accounting with new financial statements since 2009.  The Municipal Finance Officers’ Association (MFOA) and the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario (AMCTO), have forged a strategic partnership to provide ongoing information and education to assist municipal staff who will have to deal with the changes. The PSAB/Asset Management web site is designed to be a resource and information-sharing centre.ongoing information and education to assist municipal staff who will have to deal with the changes.

CentreLine:  Infrastructure assets can be properly maintained and monitored if  the legal framework of municipal operations is specifically designed to mandate best-practice asset management as measured by performance-based systems.