*Fiscal Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations

Fiscal Government

provincial and federal government having constitutionally bound jurisdictions (overlap)
- if they can’t fund some programs in their jurisdiction, this is the solution 

Fiscal Disparities

some provinces being unable to fund the same systems than the wealthier provinces (eg. education, healthcare, etc) 

Fiscal Capacity

individual province’s abilities to raise tax revenue

3 Branches of Fiscal Government

Taxation, Federal Spending Power (FSP), Equalization Payment

Taxation - fiscal gov.

usually works better for the federal government to generate tax revenue, provinces can only collect direct taxes like income tax - sometimes the federal would provide funding for the provincial government

Federal Spending Power (FSP)

how the federal government is able to spend its money to influence areas of jurisdiction 

• provinces have jurisdiction over healthcare, but is funded by the federal government 

• it’s up to the provinces how the money is spent

• historically the federal government relied on grants to receive funds

Equalization Payment

federal tax revenue given to provinces to balance the national average/provide equitable services in every area of the country - for provinces that generate tax revenue below the average 

Municipalities

governments that are responsible for a small area (city, village, town, etc)

• creates bylaws in key areas (road maintenance. etc)

• some are bigger than provinces

• no constitutional protection/power

• “creatures of the provinces”