Page - 135 - in VULNERABLE - The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19

135Municipal Power and Democratic Legitimacy in the Time of COVID-19 of provincial public health and emergency laws related to COVID- 19 in Canadian cities to see whether particular populations are dis- proportionately affected.34 Fourth, all of the canvassed municipalities cite significant finan- cial impacts from the pandemics. Most notable is a reduction in prop- erty tax payments, which accounts for 70% of municipal budgets. Local governments are also obtaining less revenue through fees, as many cities stopped enforcement of parking fees, have cancelled fee- paying recreation programs, and halted permits. Many municipalities have introduced layoffs to reduce operating expenses.35 While provin- cial and federal governments have also experienced a loss of revenue, they are able to run deficits. Municipalities cannot do so and are hence very limited in their ability to raise revenue. The financial impact of COVID-19 should be taken as a reason for provincial governments to change outmoded legislation that prevents even the largest cities from engaging in the same deficit financing practices that ordinary citizens with mortgages take for granted. Democratic Legitimacy in the Time of COVID-19 Cities are one of many responders in a federal model that includes federal and provincial governments, First Nations, and administrative bodies such as boards of health and school boards. Emergency legis- lation exposes the tensions in the municipal responses to COVID-19. Local governments are entrusted to bypass usual processes to imme- diately address matters of public safety if the matter can be addressed at that scale. For example, Ontario’s act provides that “A declaration 34. Alex Luscombe & Alexander McClelland, “Policing the Pandemic Enforcement Report, April 14, 2020 -May 1, 2020” (2020), online: Policing  the  Pandemic  Mapping  Project <www.policingthepandemic.ca>. “Snitch lines” refer to encouragement by municipalities to report alleged COVID-19 violations to a dedicated phone or online “snitch line”, or to general municipal information lines. COVID-19 viola- tions may be municipal or provincial. 35. See e.g. Josh Pringle “4,280 Part-Time City of Ottawa Employees Laid off Due to COVID-19 Pandemic”, CTV News (6 April 2020), online: <https://ottawa.ctvnews. ca/4-280-part-time-city-of-ottawa-employees-laid-off-due-to-covid-19-pan- demic-1.4884667>; Jeremy Thompson, “City of Edmonton Temporarily Lays off 900 More Staff as $163M Shortfall Looms”, CTV News (27 April 2020), online: <https:// edmonton.ctvnews.ca/city-of-edmonton- temporarily-lays-off-900-more-staff- as-163m-shortfall-looms-1.4913647>; and Sean Kavanagh, “Nearly 700 City of Winnipeg Workers Receive Layoff Notices”, CBC (15 April 2020), online: <https:// www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/city-winnipeg-layoff-staff-covid- finances-1.5533139>.