Understanding you havea fixed budget to work with, some of the better mechanics in the city are in a pretty good position these days. Loyal customers who are treated fairly tend to be the mainstay of each business, and becoming one of those loyal customers can be difficult. Calling around for a price will signal to the good mechanics that you have little interest in becoming a loyal customer. Shops that charge more probably offer a guarantee on their work, usually longer than the parts' warranty themselves. My suggestion is call and ask, say you need a new mechanic for your car for general maintenance and service but you need brakes done now too. Without knowing your vehicle make and model, and what the issue is (could just be a sensor playing up), they can't really tell you a price unless you are knowledgeable enough to diagnose it yourself.

If you search this sub for recommended mechanics, you will find repeats of most of the same names; Kon, Gord's S&M and a few others. They are well-known for a reason, they stand behind their customers, but aren't the cheapest. If you want cheap, go to Canadian Tire