The province of British Columbia has earned an A – the highest grade in Canada – for reforming the regulatory burden on small business, according to the yearly Red Tape Report Card issued Jan. 212 by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) as part of its fourth annual Red Tape Awareness Week.
“The B.C. government is very proud to be recognized by CFIB for our continued commitment to cutting red tape,” said Naomi Yamamoto, Minister of State for Small Business. “We know that this is an area where government can make a real difference for small business.
“That’s also why we’re not stopping, and are pleased to announce today a joint review with the CFIB to identify five priorities for continued red-tape reduction that will have a positive impact on small business and the jobs they create.”
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 B.C. to D- assessments earned by Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, Northwest Territories and Yukon. The federal government earned a B+.
“British Columbia is the only province that has demonstrated a sustained commitment to measuring red tape,” said Laura Jones, CFIB’s executive vice-president. “Without this, there can be no accountability.”
B.C. established the Red Tape Reduction Task Force in 2001, committing to reduce the baseline 360,295 regulations by one-third by 2004. The province has currently managed to reduce that number by 42 per cent as of 2012, and the net zero increase policy will continue until at least 2015. In addition, the province passed the Regulatory Reporting Act, committing the government to an annual public report on the government’s ongoing progress.
