News
Federal gov’t earns B+ on red tape report card

Jan. 22, 2013, Toronto — The federal government has earned a grade of B+ in reforming the regulatory burden on small business, according to the yearly Red Tape Report Card issued by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).

That’s an improvement from a grade of B- last year, and a C+ in 2011.

“Across the country, entrepreneurs have told me they’re very happy the federal government is making important and necessary changes to help Canada’s job creators,” said CFIB executive vice-president Laura Jones. “The Prime Minister and his government ‘get’ this issue, and deserve credit for their work that will make Canada more competitive in the long run.”

The report card evaluates federal and provincial governments’ progress on regulatory reform. It looks at political leadership, efforts to measure the regulatory burden, long-term thinking, and the overall public policy context.

Provincial and territorial grades run the gamut from the A earned by British Columbia to the D- assessments earned by Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, Northwest Territories and Yukon.

The federal government received praise from CFIB for implementing a “one-for-one” rule (meaning a regulation must be removed for every new rule introduced), appointing an independent panel to evaluate and report on the government’s performance, and for requiring departments to set and publish measurable goals for service improvement, and report on their performance.

Overall, the federal government has shown the most improvement of any jurisdiction. The government of Ontario has been active on the issue last year, and is the province to watch in 2013.

“Hard-working entrepreneurs consistently tell us that excessive, and unnecessary regulation and paperwork is one of the biggest impediments they face,” added Jones. “The Red Tape Report Card is CFIB’s way of praising political leaders who are making a difference for small business, and pointing out which jurisdictions still have a lot of work to do.”