Private Car, Public Oversight: Municipal Regulation of Ride-hailing Platforms in Toronto and the Greater Golden Horseshoe

Municipalities in many regions of Canada have regulated vehicle-for-hire services. With the rise of ride-hailing platforms, such as Uber and Lyft, this responsibility to produce a reliable vehicle-for-hire service has largely been transferred to private platforms. Using a case study of the City of Toronto and surrounding Greater Golden Horseshoe, this article examines how local regulation of this critical urban mobility service has changed. Drawing upon an analysis of 27 interviews with municipal staff, councilors and industry experts, a review of written local media, and a review of government documents, the study finds that municipalities are withdrawing from direct control of the industry due to a lack of tools of oversight and a prioritization of private industry over public service. The study discusses ongoing challenges that may be addressed by greater oversight of the service. It concludes by highlighting examples of municipalities growing their capacity for oversight and provides recommendations for further growth.

The CEP Crosswalk: A community energy planning tool for interdepartmental alignment and stakeholder engagement

Community Energy Planning is a still-maturing practice that has great potential to help achieve climate goals, stimulate economic development, and realize health and social benefits. Community Energy Plans (CEPs) in Canada often encounter barriers to implementation that can be mitigated through use of decision support tools (QUEST, 2015). Planning tools are needed to help municipal staff improve the quality and quantity of stakeholder engagement during the CEP process, set priorities, and increase inter-departmental collaboration on climate and energy goals. In this paper, we present the Crosswalk Document, tool designed to support the Community Energy Planning process by identifying “points of contact” between the guiding policy documents of a given jurisdiction. We discuss the method used to construct the Crosswalk, and share insights from Community Energy practitioners at the Halifax Regional Municipality and the Town of Oakville who used it to the benefit their Community Energy Planning processes.

Social and municipal influences on intention to purchase electric and hybrid electric vehicles in London Ontario, CA

We conducted a case study in London, Ontario to identify factors that influence decisions to purchase low carbon vehicles including what role municipal governments might play in encouraging low carbon vehicle purchase decisions. As part of a city-university partnership, this study reports (n = 257) results from a mail-out survey. We test mainly whether social influences and mechanisms under municipal control predict intent to purchase electric vehicles (EV) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). Both proximal social influencers (family and friends) (.179**, .393**) and distal social influencers (.219**, .142*) predict intent to purchase EV and HEV respectively. City information sessions (.161** EV) and City promotion (.141* HEV) significantly influence intentions, while City-provided EV parking and charging are not. While municipalities may find other areas with greater impact on GHG reductions, the findings support promoting the social aspects of EV and HEV purchasing and providing relatively low-cost promotion/events.

Enabling community energy planning? Polycentricity, governance frameworks, and community energy planning in Canada

Cet article examine les expériences de planification énergétique communautaire (PEC) dans trois provinces canadiennes: la Colombie-Britannique; l’Ontario; et la Nouvelle-Écosse. Les études de cas sont utilisées pour répondre à deux questions: dans quelle mesure les expériences du PEC au Canada reflètent-elles des modèles de gouvernance conventionnels dans lesquels l'autorité est partagée entre différents paliers de gouvernement par rapport à des approches proprement polycentriques; et comment de telles activités polycentriques, autonomes et auto-organisées peuvent-elles réussir sans règles globales favorables venant des plus hauts paliers de gouvernements? Les trois cas démontrent des aspects de la gouvernance polycentrique, toutefois ils les cas mettent en évidence les limites des initiatives de gouvernance polycentrique locale en l'absence de politiques stables et cohérentes venant de paliers supérieurs. Ces résultats soulèvent des implications importantes sur la capacité des initiatives communautaires à fournir des réponses efficaces à des défis mondiaux complexes tels que le changement climatique en l'absence de cadres politiques et de gouvernance globaux favorables.

Why is there an implementation gap in community energy planning?

In community energy planning, a persistent disconnect has been observed between the targets and plans announced by local governments and the application of effective policy to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We use two methods to explore this implementation gap. First, we apply energy-economy modelling tools at the urban level to evaluate the effectiveness of various policy options available to local governments. Our case study for these exercises is the leading jurisdiction of Vancouver, British Columbia. Second, we report and analyze the results of a survey we administered to community energy practitioners in Canada. The modelling results point to jurisdictional reach as an important contributor to the implementation gap. We find that, while Vancouver can make significant progress by implementing policies that are clearly within its jurisdiction, the city is unlikely to meet its ambitious renewable energy and GHG emissions targets without the support of higher levels of government. The survey responses suggest that capacity limitations of local government also have a role in perpetuating the implementation gap.

The emergence and evolution of community energy planning in Canada: Introduction to a special issue

The push for decarbonization in Canada’s energy system is driving rapid social and technological innovation in the energy sector. Community energy planning is a rapidly evolving social movement and governance innovation that aims to minimize the impacts and maximize the benefits of these structural changes. This brief introduction to the special issue provides an overview of core principles, challenges, opportunities, and questions that surround community energy planning in Canada. Contributions to the special issue are summarized and situated in the context of this broader perspective. Issues for future research are identified.

Participatory mapping and spatial planning for renewable energy development: The case of ground-mount solar in rural Ontario

Displacing fossil fuels with renewable energy resources is essential to mitigate climate change. The implementation of renewable energy systems brings stark changes to local landscapes; e.g., wind turbines dotting a rural landscape, or solar panels covering fertile land that previously supplied food. These changes can evoke strong social opposition, even among people who are generally supportive of renewable energy (RE). Research suggests that public tensions around renewable energy development are reduced through inclusive decision-making processes (i.e., improved procedural justice) as well as benefits sharing (i.e., improved distributional justice). We develop and test a process for proactive and inclusive spatial planning for RE development in a region. Our work combines participatory mapping and survey- and focus-group-based sentiment analysis in order to understand community concerns around renewable energy projects, and how those concerns are reflected spatially. We conducted a case study on ground-mount solar energy systems in the Town of Caledon, Ontario, Canada. From this study, we aimed to determine what regions and kinds of landscapes community members might find acceptable or not for new solar projects, and to facilitate dialogue about opportunities and potential impacts with the general public, key stakeholders, and influencers (utilities, land-owners, developers, municipal staff) in the locality.

Cannabis production and land use planning: A literature review

Cannabis production standards are evolving with little understanding of their implications on land use planning. Health Canada currently administers a federally-regulated licensing system that does not address odour and light pollution land use impacts across the rural landscape. This literature review addresses the regulatory history of cannabis production in Canada, reviews current production standards, and compares possible cannabis production conflicts with documented land use conflicts from other odourous and light intensive operations to reveal flaws in the existing licensing system. Established cannabis production markets will be examined for further comparisons.

The Quality of Farmland Protection in Canada: An Evaluation of the Strength of Provincial Legislative Frameworks

Continuous efforts by governments to protect agricultural land has resulted in a mix of interests, policies, and outcomes. Through this paper, our aims are to evaluate provincial legislative frameworks across Canada and to improve our understanding of why some provincial legislative frameworks to protect agricultural land are better than others. In our study, we evaluated and compared the strength of ten provincial legislative frameworks for agricultural land use planning. Our results show that Québec, British Columbia, and Ontario have the strongest legislative frameworks to protect agricultural land, while the rest of Canada’s provinces have only a moderate to weak policy focus. This situation leaves most of Canada’s agricultural land highly exposed to more conversion and non-farm uses. The results also illustrate how key elements of a legislative framework interact, serving to either enhance or detract from overall strength of policy focus, thereby informing a strategic approach to policy development.

Ethnocultural diversity, Indigeneity, and intercultural understanding in the context of planning for reconciliation: Perspectives from the City of Winnipeg, Manitoba

Through a case study of the city of Winnipeg, this paper examines perspectives on Indigeneity and ethnocultural diversity in the context of planning for reconciliation at the scale of a city as inhabited by both Indigenous and racialized communities. The authors reveal a separation between Indigeneity and immigration discourses in academic literature and in planning practice and problematize the processes by which cities plan for diversity. This paper draws from 42 semi-structured interviews conducted with Indigenous and racialized inhabitants, organizational officials, and planners in Winnipeg to reveal that amid the absence of strong municipal planning and programming, intercultural understanding between Indigenous and immigrant inhabitants has developed in the city, and that planners can do more to help to sustain and enhance it. The authors conclude that by increasing the level of literacy and competency in ethnocultural diversity and in Indigeneity, and by focusing on processes of planning, planners and municipal officials can play a more constructive role in enhancing intercultural relations and advancing reconciliation in Winnipeg and other Canadian cities.