It’s easy to blame the City for when things go wrong and systems fail us or make our lives harder.
It’s frustrating when construction down the street never ends, or inadequate student funding keeps you from following your dreams. People get understandably riled up when rent is up or their car falls down a pothole.
When upsetting things happen, it’s easy to point the finger at the closest political figures — our councillors and the mayor. But not everything is in their hands.
In Canada, there are three levels of government that control pretty different things.
If you want change, as I assume you do because you’re reading this, the first step is to learn who has the power to actually fix the problem.
Otherwise, you’re knocking on the wrong door.
When people complain to the wrong government, officials can’t fix the issue and people continue to believe politics and deputations don’t work. Politics work best when citizens understand where to go, what to do and how to say it.
So, let’s head back to grade five, where we learned different levels of government — but this time, we’ll dive into who to contact for what.
What does the City of Toronto control?
The City of Toronto — the municipal government — handles pretty much anything related to local services or infrastructure. One way to think about it is by remembering the things you interact with every day.
Toronto controls the following:
- Garbage pickup
- Snow removal (YUCK!)
- Local roads and bike lanes
- Parks and recreation
- Public transportation, like the TTC
- Zoning and development approvals for a new apartment building or changes to existing properties
- Garbage pickup
- Snow removal (YUCK!)
- Local roads and bike lanes
- Parks and recreation
- Public transportation, like the TTC
- Zoning and development approvals for a new apartment building or changes to existing properties
If you’ve got a problem and it includes the day-to-day of your neighbourhood, chances are that it’s probably the City.
Who to contact at the City of Toronto:
You could contact your councillor by:
- Using the City of Toronto’s tool to find your councillor.
- Calling 311 – the non-emergency municipal line – to make complaints about pesky potholes or missed garbage pickups.
- Making a deputation at Toronto City Hall. Not sure how to do that? The Green Line created a How to Make a Deputation at Toronto City Hall guide that can help you.
- Contacting City staff to report issues – like that pesky pothole – but also inquire about local bylaws or even provide feedback on city programs.
- Using the City of Toronto’s tool to find your councillor.
- Calling 311 — the non-emergency municipal line — to make complaints about pesky potholes or missed garbage pickups.
- Making a deputation at Toronto City Hall. Not sure how to do that? The Green Line created a How to Make a Deputation at Toronto City Hall guide that can help you.
- Contacting City staff to report issues — like that pesky pothole — but also inquire about local bylaws or even provide feedback on city programs.
📸: Julia Lawrence/The Green Line.
What does the Province of Ontario control?
When the issues impacting people in Ajax are also impacting people in Kitchener, chances are, the provincial government is behind it.
Ontario has influence over housing, health care, education and labour laws.
The province controls the following:
- Housing
- Rent control
- Tenant protections
- Health care
- Hospital funding
- OHIP coverage
- Education
- Funding
- Curriculum
- Universities and colleges
- Labour and workplace
- Minimum wage
- Safety laws
- Paid leave (unless the employee works for a federally regulated industry, like banking)
- Housing
- Rent control
- Tenant protections
- Health care
- Hospital funding
- OHIP coverage
- Education
- Funding
- Curriculum
- Universities and colleges
- Labour and workplace
- Minimum wage
- Safety laws
- Paid leave (unless the employee works for a federally regulated industry, like banking)
Who to contact at the government of Ontario?
Decided you want to yell at provincial staff and representatives?
Contact your MPP, participate in provincial consultations and make sure to vote in provincial elections.
You can learn who your Member of Provincial Parliament is by typing your address into the Province’s tool.
What the federal government controls
Oh, Canada 🎶
The federal government handles matters of national security and nation-wide policies. For example, it’s responsible for the country’s economy, international relationships and immigration rules.
The federal government controls things like:
- Immigration and citizenship
- Refugee policies
- Permanent residency and citizenship
- Banking
- Federal taxes
- Employment Insurance (EI)
- Trade agreements and sanctions
- The Canadian Armed Forces
- The Criminal Code of Canada
- Aid and trade with other countries
- Immigration and citizenship
- Refugee policies
- Permanent residency and citizenship
- Banking
- Federal taxes
- Employment Insurance (EI)
- Trade agreements and sanctions
- The Canadian Armed Forces
- The Criminal Code of Canada
- Aid and trade with other countries
Who to contact in the federal government?
Your Member of Parliament (MP) will hear you out. It might feel a bit intimidating to reach out to someone at such a large scale, but they’re there to listen to your concerns. You can use multiple sites online to find your rep. I recommend this one from the ON Canada Project.
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further reading
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