Toronto: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) today expressed satisfaction that Mayor David Miller took the CTF advice to establish a 'Creative Solutions' panel to provide recommendations on how to take Toronto forward. CTF Ontario Director Kevin Gaudet said, "Toronto needs creative solutions to complicated problems. Council should let the panel does its job before rushing to impose new taxes".

The CTF has been calling for such a panel since July 2007. As well, the city of Winnipeg just completed a similar undertaking that ended with tax cuts instead of tax hikes.

Gaudet concluded, "the CTF hopes it will have the opportunity to present its recommendations to the panel."

There are a number of areas the panel could investigate including:

• Public private partnerships;
  
• Outsourcing;
  
• Activity based costing and operational efficiencies;
  
• Fee-based cost-recovery for some services;
  
• Alternate revenue streams such as a Gas Tax Accountability Act
  
• Use of municipal assets and the possible creation of an endowment fund; and,
  
• Increased partnerships with not-for profits (the Casa Loma model).