Browse "Municipal Institutions and Offices"

Bureaucracy may be defined as a formal organizational arrangement characterized by division of labour, specialization of functions, a hierarchy of authority and a system of rules, regulations and record keeping. In common usage, it refers to the administrative branch of government.

The term bureaucracy is traditionally associated with the administration of government and its various agencies.

Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) is a geographical area created by Statistics Canada for the purposes of collecting and organizing data for large urbanized areas.

The most obvious difference between city politics and federal or provincial politics in Canada is the absence of the major political parties.

Continuing housing co-operatives emerged during the 1960s as an innovative way to meeting housing needs and foster community development. Many Canadians, especially families with children, could no longer afford home ownership and faced difficulty finding good-quality rental housing.

Improvement District, a municipal corporation whose powers are exercised by a trustee or board of trustees appointed by the provincial government. Unlike most municipalities, which are subject to the supervision of both the province and local electors, trustees are under provincial supervision only.

See MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT.

The police village, a category of local governing body in Ontario, predates Confederation. The original purpose was to establish a local body in a hamlet ("village") to maintain public order (hence "police") and deliver a limited number of services to rural township dwellers.

Streets, avenues, roads and parks are named according to criteria set by the municipal council concerned.

The design of the City Hall was chosen through an international competition, which attracted more than 500 competitors from 42 countries.

UtilitiesUtilities are often described as businesses so "affected with the public interest" that they must be regulated by government regarding entry into (and exit from) the market, rate charges to customers, rate of return allowed to owners, and for the requirement to serve all customers within their area of operation (see REGULATORY PROCESS). Businesses engaged in the production and distribution of electricity, the distribution of natural gas, the distribution of water, telecommunications (particularly telephone...

The right to vote in Canada has not been straightforward. Race, ethnicity, and gender were often factors in determining who had the right to vote, a right that, once earned, could be taken away. Learn about the complicated history of Voting Rights in Canada.

Zoning is the term used to describe the control by authority of the use of land, and of the buildings and improvements thereon. Areas of land are divided by appropriate authorities into zones within which various uses are permitted.