Red Tape Report Card: BC and Quebec Top of the Class
by Canadian Manufacturing.com Staff
CFIB has released its annual report card on regulatory efficiency, and BC and Quebec are star students
TORONTO—The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) issued its annual red tape report card, grading the provinces and territories on their commitment to red tape accountability. The report card looks at political leadership, public measurement, and constraints on regulations.
“For governments that want a better grade, red tape reform has a simple formula: measure, report, repeat,” said Laura Jones, executive vice-president and chief strategic officer at CFIB. “Without knowing the size of the problem, it’s impossible to tackle it – like trying to lose weight without first weighing yourself.”
Leading the way on red tape reduction are British Columbia and Quebec. CFIB found that both provinces demonstrated strong leadership in dealing with red tape, and reduced or restricted the growth of unnecessary regulations.
“Kudos to British Columbia for showing leadership and continuing to hone in on the unnecessary regulations restraining small businesses,” said Jones. “Along with Quebec, they are showing the rest of the country how it’s done.”
According to CFIB, the annual cost of all regulations on businesses in Canada is estimated at $37 billion per year, with one-third of that ($11 billion) considered to be red tape.
Here’s how other governments stacked up:
British Columbia: A
Quebec: A
Saskatchewan: B
Nova Scotia: B
Federal Government: B
Ontario: B-
Prince Edward Island: C+
New Brunswick: C+
Newfoundland and Labrador: C
Manitoba: D+
Northwest Territories: F
Alberta: F
