Understanding the Levels of Government
Lately, a number of residents have reached out to our office asking for assistance with a wide range of files that are outside the municipal remit. My team is always happy to help how we can, though often, your best option for quick help might be to reach out to a different office.
To that end, I wanted to provide a quick guide on the “who’s who” of government.
In Canada, there are three levels of government: federal, provincial, and municipal.
The Government of Canada (Federal)
The Government of Canada, often referred to as the federal government, is what most people across the country associate with Ottawa. Its role and responsibilities are all the authorities listed in Canada’s constitution, including the power to make laws for the “Peace, Order, and good Government of Canada.”
Generally, this means that the federal government is responsible for making decisions that have an effect on the whole country. This includes immigration and citizenship, criminal law, defence, foreign policy, money and banking, and more.
In addition to these responsibilities, the federal government has by far the most resources of any level of government. Due to having more resources, the government of Canada often provides transfers to lower levels of government to fund important priorities such as health care or infrastructure that lower levels of government might not be able to fund on their own.
The federal government can help with the following kinds of issues:
- Immigration, refugee, and citizenship issues
- Employment Insurance support
- Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Old Age Security (OAS), or Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) authorization forms
- Support for Veterans
- Concerns with respect to Canadian laws
To get assistance from the federal government, you can reach out to your local Member of Parliament’s office.
The Government of Ontario (Provincial)
Just as is the case in other provinces, the Government of Ontario (often called the provincial government) has authority over important areas such as healthcare, education, highways, prisons, and more. Municipalities also fall under provincial authority.
Additionally, the province has, under the constitution, legislative power over matters that are specific to the province, even if they are not expressly listed in the constitution. This makes the province very broad in its powers and authorities.
The provincial government can help with the following kinds of issues:
- Assistance with family and social supports
- Mental health and addictions support
- Child protection services
- Landlord-tenant disputes
- Education policy issues, including childcare policy
- Healthcare policy
- Regulations respecting roads and highways
To get assistance from the provincial government, you can reach out to your local Member of Provincial Parliament’s office.
The City of Ottawa (Municipal)
Whether they are cities, towns, or regions, municipal governments are generally the most local level of government. Municipalities are not an established level of government in the constitution; rather, they are under the purview of the provinces. This means that municipal governments only have the powers that are granted to them by the province and that municipalities can look very different from one another across the country.
This also means that the province generally can override the City through legislation, regulation, policy, approval authority, and orders.
Generally speaking, municipalities like the City of Ottawa are responsible for local infrastructure, land use planning, shelters, social housing, issuance of building permits, water and wastewater, transit, local by-laws, waste management, policing, property taxes, recreation, and much more.
Moreover, in Ontario, the province has the ability to delegate to municipal governments certain responsibilities. For instance, the province provides the City with money to administer programs like the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care System on its behalf. The City administers this program and manages it at the local level, but is not generally responsible for how the program functions or how it is funded.
Municipalities are also constrained in their authority matters based on the legislation set by the province. For instance, though the City of Ottawa administers local policing, Councillors have no authority to direct the operations of police or by-law officers as their authority comes from the province. Indeed, political offices are legally prohibited with directing or interfering with police or by-law officers in their activities. Similar kinds of legal and regulatory constraints apply to almost everything that the City does; municipal councils and politicians operate within the legal and regulatory environment that the province sets.
With all this in mind, my office can assist with the following kinds of files:
- Questions about zoning, developments, and land use
- Issues with garbage, green bins, or recycling
- By-law questions
- Housing and homelessness
- Parks, libraries, and recreation
- Winter road maintenance
- Assistance with transit issues
- Infrastructure concerns, such as road or sidewalk maintenance
- Traffic calming requests
Contacting the Right Office
What’s important to keep in mind is that at the City level, my office and I can be most helpful on files that are within the City’s authority to address. Even so, if ever you are unsure about where to go, my team and I are here to help steer you in the right direction. Please reach out any time to my office at ward21@ottawa.ca.