Show Us Our Money: Fiscal Accountability in Canada’s Cities, 2022

The budgets governments present around the beginning of their fiscal year and the financial statements they publish after the fiscal year has ended are critical tools for legislators and voters. To non-experts, the transparency of these documents matters: from them, readers should be able to understand the government’s plans, see how results differed from plans, discern the implications for the government’s future capacity to deliver services, and hold the government accountable for its performance. This annual report assesses the transparency and quality of the budgets and financial statements of 32 major Canadian municipalities. The grades for 2022 ranged from A to D. At the top was Richmond, British Columbia, whose documents earned an A for their clarity, completeness and promptness. Markham, Surrey, Vancouver and Quebec City, each with A–, also stood out favourably. The financial statements these municipalities published after fiscal year-end were typically clear. The statements followed public sector accounting standards (PSAS) and presented the key figures where users could find and identify them easily. Although some municipalities released their financial statements late and the documents have features that impede understanding, their statements generally earned high scores. The budgets of many other municipalities were less satisfactory. At the bottom were Durham Region, Kitchener, Hamilton, Regina and Halifax, whose D-range grades reflect multiple problems with transparency, reliability and timeliness. Most of these municipalities did not present PSAS-consistent figures prominently and many did not present them at all. Most presented separate operating and capital budgets, with the latter prepared on a cash basis. Even experts struggle to reconcile such budgets with past results or to predict what the municipality will report at year-end. Many budgets also separated tax- and rate- supported activities, presenting a fragmented picture. Municipal councillors often voted on budgets after the fiscal year started and money was already committed or spent. These problems matter. Opaque budgets foster citizens’ disengagement and discourage informed input. In fact, Canada’s municipalities are in more robust financial shape than most people know. Cash budgeting for capital likely helps explain why some cities collect funds up front for projects that might proceed late, if ever; it also fosters neglect of infrastructure once in place. A municipality’s budget should follow the same accounting rules and format as its year-end financial statements. In particular, the budget should use accrual accounting with respect to capital, showing long-lived items such as buildings and bridges as assets that get written off as they deliver their services. Provincial governments that impede PSAS-consistent municipal budgets – for example, by mandating separate operating and capital budgets – should stop doing so. With PSAS-consistent accounting, the municipality’s budget, like its financial statements, would show city-wide consolidated gross revenue and spending, capturing the full scope of the city’s activities and claim on its citizens’ resources. Along with timelier presentations, these changes would raise the fiscal accountability of Canada’s municipalities to a level more commensurate with their importance. Note to readers: This is a revised version of the Commentary first published in March 2023. It features revised grades for Halifax (corrected date for auditor’s signature and headline budget numbers), for Laval and London (revised scores for reconciliations of financial statements to budgets), for Montreal (corrected page for headline numbers in financial statements), for Waterloo Region (revised comparison of budget projections to previous year), and Winnipeg (revised scores for PSAS-consistent budget numbers), as well as revised historical grades for several municipalities.