GOLD Report I - UCLG

247tion of Canadian Municipalities 2004: 9),with much lower representation of womenfrom minority ethnicities.Representation of racial and ethnic minoritiescontinues to pose problems in bothcountries. In the United States, with therise of majority-minority jurisdictions inmany central cities, African-American,Latino and Asian-American representativeshave in many places acquired a significantor even predominant role in local councils.In cities of all sizes – especially in thelargest ones – surveys indicate that minorityrepresentation doubled from 1979 to 2001(Svara 2003: p. 7). But studies continue toshow under-representation of minorities inrelation to their numbers, a situation oftenlinked to low electoral turnout and otherfactors (Hajnal and Trounstine 2005).Similarly, a 1998 analysis of council membersin Montreal showed only 29% fromthe ethnic minority groups that comprised43% of the total population (Simard 2000:p. 17).IV.7. Traditional institutionsIn particular regions in both countries,indigenous populations from the yearsbefore European settlement continue tomaintain traditional institutions that canalter or replace the workings of other localgovernments. In some cases, relationsbetween indigenous local practices andlocal government have become enmeshedin renewed debates about indigenousclaims to land title and forms of sovereignty(Langton et al. 2004). Widersystems for providing services and maintaininginfrastructure have also had to bemodified to accommodate local selfgovernment through traditional institutions.In Canada, where there are some 1500indigenous tribes, a series of treaties sincethe 1970s has established the right of FirstNations to self-government (Morse 2004).The need for cooperation with the localgovernments has led First Nation treatynegotiators for British Columbia to agree toa protocol that guarantees local governmentrepresentatives a place in treatynegotiations.On the 550 Indian reservations in the UnitedStates, the tribal government is thelocal government authority. Reservationsare exempt from certain taxes, such asstate sales taxes, and often maintain theirown tribal courts. The isolation and povertyof many reservations makes settlementssome of the poorest in the country (Kaltand Cornell 2000).IV.8. Decentralization and oversightof local governmentAdhering to the British system that influencedthe early development of these countries,higher-level governments in Canada and theUnited States do not rely on the territorialrepresentation of a prefect, or a comparablegeneral representative at the local level. Inthe federal systems of the two countries,separate departments of the states, provincesand territories provide general oversight. InCanadian provinces and territories, Ministriesor Departments of Local Government providethis function. In the U.S. states, the Secretariesof State generally have this responsibility.In both countries, the oversight activitiesinclude supervision of local elections,administrative records, and other requirementsincluding those for balanced budgets.National governments in both countries have,for several decades scaled back direct interventioninto municipal affairs. Canada eliminatedits federal ministry of urban affairs inthe 1970s; the Department of Housing andUrban Development (HUD) in the U.S., hasalso reduced its role. However, the nationalgovernments have undertaken some initiativesin recent decades, intervening directly inlocal affairs. In Canada, the creation of a Ministerof State for Infrastructure and Communitiesin 2004, which became the Minister forTransport, Infrastructure. In certain areas,such as grants for housing or community de-In some cases,relations betweenindigenous localpractices and localgovernment havebecome enmeshedin renewed debatesabout indigenousclaims to land titleand forms ofsovereignty