We'll be starting our sold-out talk by Peter Wallace on The Culture of Public Money: Local, Provincial, and Federal Perspectives. Peter has served as the Secretary of Treasury Board, Toronto City Manager, Head of the Ontario Public Service among other roles. #imfgtalks
Wallace: Need to ask who can do what before who should what. #imfgtalks
Wallace: Governments are really big. $500 billion spend at the federal level; Ontario at $210 billion; Toronto at $17 billion. #Imfgtalks
Wallace: To make change you need the jurisdiction. Need to do things and act strategically. Take on risk and absorb it. #imfgtalks
Wallace: Revenues are opaque. Even if you have a balanced budget mentality, even if you are off - "not a big deal." #imfgtalks
Wallace: There is actually a lot of scope when it comes to spending, little is legislated (just the interest on debt). #imfgtalks