What We Do

Strengthening Municipal Capacity Across Atlantic Canada

Many municipalities have limited access to high-quality advisory support due to declining provincial advisory services, the concentration of private consultancies in larger markets, and the diverse scale and resources of municipal units. These gaps can impair a municipality’s ability to meet its legislative mandates and engage effectively with neighbouring units and provincial governments.

Patterson Advisory Limited is committed to helping municipalities of all sizes through practical, scalable, and accessible models of support.

Examples of Support:  

• Temporary senior staffing coverage by experienced administrators 
• Cybersecurity training and digital-awareness programs for staff 
• Coordinated municipal digital-government and information-management strategies 
• Expert-led labour relations refreshers and negotiation support 
• Human resources advisory services 
• Regulation and governance of municipal water utilities
• Regional shared-service models 
• Governance, ethics, and elections
• Planning, land-use, and municipal housing-supply acceleration
• Intergovernmental relations
• Energy and natural-resource regulatory mandates and partnership opportunities 
• Research and policy briefings on emerging municipal trends 
• Streamlining initiatives and red-tape reduction 
• “Service Bureau” model for immediate access to general coordination and multidisciplinary support

Alternative service delivery, outsourcing, and oversight of major procurements 

Additional areas include: compliance and enforcement, procurement, and support for public consultations. 

Improving Productivity and Service Delivery 

We can help both public and private institutions identify and remove internal and external administrative burdens through:

• Process streamlining and workflow redesign
• For government, reducing unnecessary regulatory or procedural demands on citizens and businesses
• For business, building in regulatory compliance 
• Implementing proven frameworks that produce measurable efficiency gains

Supporting Effective Labour Relations

Our labour relations advisors help public and private sector employers build capacity through:

• Development and assessment of negotiation strategies 
• Interest-based bargaining training 
• Advisory support for leadership and HR teams 

Independent Counsel for Complex Governance Matters

We provide confidential, senior-level advice on:

• Governance structure design and evaluation 
• Roles, authority, and accountability frameworks 
• Ethical considerations and conflict management 
• Controls, mandates, and oversight structures for boards and senior officers

We serve as a trusted, independent sounding board for leaders facing challenging organizational decisions.

Practical Insight from National-Level Experience

With advisors who have held key roles in the federal-provincial processes under the Canada Free Trade Agreement, Patterson Advisory Limited supports clients by:

• Distinguishing substantive trade barriers from perceived ones 
• Identifying realistic opportunities to advance interprovincial trade objectives 
• Recommending policy and regulatory reforms that lead to measurable progress 

Our experienced advisors can assist with complex regulatory matters, including the following:

• Building successful relationships with regulators and policy-makers
• Securing reduced compliance burden
• Managing/reducing inter-provincial trade barriers
• Supporting regulators in achieving adjudicative best practice
• Streamlining and clearing back-up in case loads

Our advisors can add value to large-scale clean energy projects, including:

• Joint venture and partnership structures
• Project development 
• Regulatory, permitting and government relations 
• Policy insight 

We can advise on the myriad of issues surrounding workplace change, including:

• Labour relations as a vehicle for advancing corporate strategy
• Negotiation preparation and strategies
• Interest-based bargaining
• Effective change management

We can advise on procurement matters, including:

• Support in pursuing major transactions opportunities in the public sector
• Advice in governance and streamlining public procurement process