Disentangling Local Government Responsibilities

Disentanglement is used in this report to refer to the unravelling of responsibilities shared by governments in order to achieve delivery of services that is more accountable, efficient, and effective. This report first reviews the development of provincial-municipal relations in Ontario since 1793, with details on the last major era of reform in the provincial-municipal relationship (late 1960s to early 1970s), a period which provides a case example of the last major effort to disentangle provincial & municipal responsibilities. This is followed by commentaries on relations between municipalities & other levels of government in other provinces & countries. The discussion covers such matters as accountability & understanding, finances, strategic planning, and intergovernmental relations. The final section discusses experiences in the other jurisdictions and analyses of past Ontario reforms & global trends in relation to Ontario's current disentanglement process.