Truth or Consequences: Your Call, Saint John – February 28, 2011
Sometimes when I want to get a snapshot of what the people are thinking, I go to the newspaper's online site. At the top of the list, both in terms of most read and most commented, was "Pothole Pandemonium" (Feb. 18) with 33 comments mostly critical of the condition of our streets with literally hundreds of thumbs-up. However, one particular comment unrelated to the public's growing disenchantment with the condition of our streets caught my attention.

Honduras's Experiment With Free-Market Cities – February 24, 2011
What advocate of free markets hasn't, at one time or another, fantasized about running away to a desert island to start a country where economic liberty would be the law of the land? If things go according to plan, more than one such "island" may soon pop up here.

Keeping our Cities Livable – February 17, 2011
As human beings pile into ever growing urban clusters, issues such as waste management, water and energy supply and transportation, become more important. And the more sophisticated the city, the greater the problems and the bigger both the need and desire to find a more comprehensive solution.

Housing Here Among World's Most Affordable – February 4, 2011
Frontier Centre in the media from the Times & Transcript (Moncton).

Municipal Infrastructure Chickens Return to Roost – January 31, 2011
The rush to cover infrastructure maintenance costs which have recently become apparent should be borne by local taxpayers. Federal or provincial funding of municipalities means sending money into capital city fiscal washing machines from whence city residents will struggle to get value for money.

Diversity in Governance: A New Deal for Cities (Part 3 of 8) – January 30, 2011
Manitoba must adopt a new deal with its cities which is reflected in provincial legislation and changed attitude on the part of provincial leaders.

The Rise of the Efficient City – January 7, 2011
"In fact, the era of bigger-is-better is passing as smaller, more nimble urban regions are emerging. These efficient cities, as I call them, provide the amenities of megacities—airports, mass communication, reservoirs of talent—without their grinding congestion, severe social conflicts and other diseconomies of scale."

Municipal Amalgamation ... Where’s the problem? – December 31, 2010
New Zealanders still have time to correct problems with municipal amalgamation that have been identified in large amalgamated Canadian municipalities.

Mayor Responds to Tax Report – December 21, 2010
"Council is entering the 2011 budget planning process. This presents a great opportunity to review the findings of the report and ensure we provide good information in advance of budget setting to Council and the community."

New Website Measures Local Gov't Transparency – December 21, 2010
A Canadian think tank has embarked on an effort to satisfy the public's growing thirst for information in a digital age where people demand instant information at their finger tips - and want a say in how they access it to boot.

Kevin Libin: Why a backward approach makes city taxes go higher – December 18, 2010
Municipal tax hikes happen all the time. In most cities, denizens have come to accept them as an annual tradition, as arduous and inevitable as Lent or Yom Kippur. Still the question is: why do we accept them so apathetically? Canadians give no other level of government such easy licence.

National Post editorial board: Local politics matter – December 18, 2010
Where mayors and councilors have taken it upon themselves to improve citizens' access to timely, reliable budget information, improvements in local-government services has followed.

Media Release - New Web Site Graphically Presents the Finances of 130 Municipalities – December 2, 2010
As of December 3, 2010, the Frontier Centre’s living database of municipal financial statistics contains graphically presented data and comparisons of municipal finances.

Danielle Smith, Leader, Wildrose Alliance Party – November 30, 2010
Danielle Smith was interviewed after her Lunch on the Frontier speech in Winnipeg on November 22, 2010.

Media Release - Frontier Centre Launches New Interactive Website for Local Government Statistics – June 16, 2010
The Frontier Centre for Public Policy today launched a new website which turns its three-year-old Local Government Performance Index into an interactive tool for journalists, municipal staff, and the public. The site contains comparative statistics from the Annual Reports of Canada’s municipalities, and judgements on the quality of their reporting. The URL is www.lgpi.ca

Maxime Bernier, Former Industry and Foreign Affairs Minister and MP for Beauce – May 27, 2010
You have to be out there. You have to explain what you believe in and I think people are intelligent. If you have a good idea and it is based on facts and you can explain it, I think people will understand and they will vote for you.

Dump the (old) Alberta Agenda – May 10, 2010
Most of the Alberta Agenda ideas have never been fully costed out by their proponents.

Creating Proper Incentives for Canada’s Cities Through Smart Provincial Legislation – January 27, 2010
Frontier senior fellow Larry Mitchell on reforming Canada’s antiquated municipal government legislation: Canadian municipal law is characterized by its prescriptive rules-based codes of compliance. These contrast starkly with other jurisdiction’s local government law. Modern local government laws of other countries seek to facilitate best-management practice by setting outcomes rather than rules; they construct a performance and service-delivery framework designed to effectively and efficiently meet the needs of local taxpayers and residents. Good local government law promotes good local government.

Media Release - Smart Local Government – January 27, 2010
“Good local government law promotes good local government,” writes Frontier senior fellow Larry Mitchell in a new look at reforming Canada’s antiquated municipal government legislation.

Report Urges Reporting of Assets – January 22, 2010
"The District of Maple Ridge ranked 59th out of 75 municipalities for financial reporting standards in a recent report by a right-wing think tank. The ranking was in a report by the Frontier Centre For Public Policy in its Local Government Performance Index 2009 report. The Centre is based out of Winnipeg."