A Patchwork of Participation

Stewardship, Delegation and the Search for Community Representation in Post-Amalgamation Ontario

Datos Bibliográficos

ID6239998
AutoresZachary Spicer (0000-0002-6441-7919, Brock University, autor de correspondencia)
Año2016
Volumen49
Número1
Páginas129-150
Fecha de publicación2016-03-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaCanadian Journal of Political Science (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0008-4239 • E-ISSN: 1744-9324
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0008423916000275
OpenAlexW2317855129
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas26

In the wake of wide-ranging municipal amalgamations Ontario, the provincial government promoted the use of community councils, citizen-led boards that would have input in local matters. Community councils were touted as a way of preserving local identity and policy control. However, more than a decade removed from Ontario's restructuring process, few municipalities have community councils in place. Those that have implemented community councils established them with purely advisory functions. This paper asks why community councils were so inconsistently implemented and introduced with such limited powers. Overall, it is found that community councils were victims of restructuring politics. Blocked by city councillors fearing decentralization would dilute their authority and foster political rivals, constrained through a restrictive legislative framework and pushed aside by city officials fearing they would effectively recreate a two-tier system, community councils were either abandoned or installed with a limited mandate

Agency (philosophy · Community organization · Community organizing · Decentralization · Government (linguistics · Legislature · Local government · Mandate · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Representation (politics · Restructuring · Sociology · Stewardship (theology · Labor Movements and Unions · Law · Political Systems and Governance · Public Administration · Public Policy and Administration Research