The federal Red Tape Reduction Commission released its final report early this year during the Canadian Federation of Independent Business’ third annual Red Tape Awareness Week™.
The report includes a recommendation to task the Auditor General of Canada with reviewing and reporting on the government’s progress in reducing red tape.
“Adding red tape oversight to the mandate of the Auditor General is a really innovative idea,” said Catherine Swift, Canadian Federation of Independent Business president and member of the commission. “If the federal government moves on this, it will show it is very, very serious about eliminating dumb and ineffective rules and improving government customer service.”
The commission’s report includes a wide range of other recommendations to reduce and control red tape including: implementing “one-for-one” legislation that eliminates one existing regulation and its associated costs for every new regulation introduced; requiring government departments to improve customer service; reviewing government publications to make sure they are using plain language; reporting regulatory requirements; and making part of senior public servants’ bonuses conditional on successfully implementing the “one-for-one” rule.
“These recommendations are common sense – they will save Canada’s job creators time and money, while not costing taxpayers. It’s the ultimate stimulus package,” said Laura Jones, CFIB senior vice-president of research and economics. CFIB estimates that regulation costs Canadian businesses over $30 billion a year, with about 25 per cent of that cost ($7.5 billion) being unnecessary red tape.
The commission was announced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Jan. 14 last year, during CFIB’s second annual Red Tape Awareness Week, where he called red tape “a silent killer of jobs.” The mandate of the commission is to identify red tape irritants and recommend long-term solutions to control it.
What does red tape mean to people? Visit CFIB’s video on what it looks like to one small business owner at www.youtube.com/user/cfibdotca
In over a dozen consultations by the commission across Canada, CFIB members provided hundreds of comments and examples that showed the burden red tape can pose for small businesses.
Entrepreneurs celebrate any government action that leads to a noticeable improvement in their day-to-day operations, and the recommendations should prove to be significantly helpful.
With the federal government taking steps to eliminate red tape for business, Ontario is also on board.
Minister of Economic Development and Innovation Brad Duguid issued a statement on the release of the report by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business that examined the impact of regulation on small business in Canada.
“Ontario has taken significant steps in recent years to make the province a more attractive place to do business,” Duguid said. “Since 2008, we have eliminated over 80,000 regulatory requirements – a 17.2 per cent reduction. Tax reforms, including the introduction of the HST, have streamlined administration with the federal government and eliminated duplication. Moving to the HST eliminated 5,000 pages of outdated rules, regulations and procedures and is saving businesses $500 million per year.”
Duguid said, “I am pleased that the Canadian Federation of Independent Business has recognized these efforts to cut red tape and improve government-to-business services. Ontario moved up a full grade in the CFIB ranking, the most significant improvement in Canada. This is a testament to the hard work and collaboration undertaken in Ontario that is fostering a healthy and innovative business climate and creating jobs.”
He said, “Reducing the regulatory burden on business and giving them the tools they need to create jobs is a shared priority for both the CFIB and the province.”
As Canada’s largest association of small- and medium-sized businesses, CFIB, established in 1971, and takes direction from more than 108,000 members in every sector nationwide, giving independent business a strong and influential voice at all levels of government and helping to grow the economy.
