Trends in Municipal Spending: Climate Change & Policing
Author
Rachel Howlett
My name is Rachel Howlett and my pronouns are she/her. I am from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, which is the traditional land of the Mi’kmaq known as Mi’kmaki in the region of Sipekni’katik. I am speaking from a position of privilege as a white settler and I want to acknowledge that intersectionality is essential in every topic in order to fully address the injustices of the world we live in. This post was written to educate others on the intersection of human health and the environment.
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As the largest city, Toronto’s total annual budget for 2019 was $13.47 billion (3). The 2019 summary budget council vision includes a statement on the responsibility to maintain and improve the health of the environment for present and future generations (3). As the budget line includes both energy and the environment, this category covers research and policy development, renewable energy, environmental & energy outreach, and energy management & programs (3). In 2019, the environment and energy service spent $33.87 million which was slightly increased from 2018 at $31.38 million, representing a 7.90% increase (3). The second largest city in the country, Montreal, had an annual budget of $5.71 billion for 2019 and they list their four biggest priorities as economic development, housing, transportation and the environment (4). The budget presents one environmental allocation at $144.31 million, which includes food safety, education related to environmental issues, waste disposal, and responsible land use (4). The previous budget for 2018 was $131.43 million, which corresponds to a 9.79% increase in 2019 (4). To compare with Vancouver, their total annual budget for 2019 was $1.73 billion (5). The relevant allocation regarding the environment is represented by planning, urban design & sustainability category, at $26.48 million in 2019 and $23.43 million in 2018, showing a 11.20% increase (5,6). The 2020 budget notes a priority to accelerate action on climate change with an estimated $6.80 million investment (5). It is worth mentioning that the budget reports do not provide a clear picture of how the money is specifically allocated within the category of environmental spending. It is thus difficult to comment on the amount of funding specifically targeted towards climate change initiatives.
It is evident that our most populous cities are spending a considerable amount on policing. Critically, data collection from the United States concludes that Black men are 2.5 times more likely than White men to be killed by police (7). Additionally, Black people who were killed by police were twice as likely to be unarmed compared to White people (7). Racial bias is present in our current policing system and it is imperative that our municipal government look at how we are funding these systems across the country.
References
- https://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/budget/understanding-your-city-budgethttps://fcm.ca/en/focus-areas/climate-and-sustainability
- https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/budget-finances/city-budget/http://ville.montreal.qc.ca/pls/portal/docs/page/service_fin_fr/media/documents/2019_budget_fonctionnement.pdfhttps://vancouver.ca/files/cov/2019-budget-book.pdfhttps://vancouver.ca/files/cov/vancouver-2018-budget.pdf
- https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01846-zhttps://www.greenamerica.org/climate-justice-all/people-color-are-front-lines-climate-crisis