The Canadian Taxpayers Federation has received countless e-mails and phone calls from local taxpayers looking for answers and advice as to how to constructively address local government concerns. This guidebook is the CTF’s answer.

Canada has roughly 4,000 municipal governments from coast-to-coast-to-coast; and while the CTF keeps tabs on several large cities, one organization cannot be a watchdog for every single one of them. It’s up to concerned citizens across the country to accept a leadership role in “watch-dogging” their local government.

Forming a municipal ratepayers association (RPA) within a community is the first step towards productively channeling concern about high taxes, wasteful government spending and a lack of accountability into positive outcomes. Getting organized can be both fun and rewarding, but success will require determination, patience and as this guidebook’s existence implies, some advice. 

Whether a municipality has a population of 2,000 or 200,000, this guidebook will assist local taxpayers by equipping them with the necessary steps for developing an organization capable of taking on city hall and doing at the local level what the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) does at the provincial and federal levels.

Click here for the Municipal Ratepayers Guide. This is a large file and may take a few minutes to download.

Related Materials:

• Beggar's Checklist
• A Property Tax Cap
• Towards More Efficient Municipal Government