New Brunswick gets a ‘C+’ on regulatory reform
As part of its third annual Red Tape Awareness Week , the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) released its annual Red Tape Report Card today. New Brunswick scored a grade of C+, inching up slightly from last year's showing.
The report card evaluates federal and provincial governments' progress to date on regulatory reform. It looks at measurement, political leadership, constraints on regulators and a permanent commitment to report. "Without an ongoing commitment in these areas, red tape initiatives are doomed to fail," said Leanne Hachey, Vice President of Atlantic Canada.
New Brunswick's grade places it in the middle of the pack. While a government-wide plan to reduce the regulatory burden is still lacking, steps have been taken over the past year to begin measuring the burden and streamline processes where possible. As well, the Premier set a target to reduce red tape by 20 per cent as an election commitment and has since moved the file from Business New Brunswick to the Executive Council Office, indicating that red tape is a cross-government issue.
Several provinces and the Federal government improved their grades over last year. Nova Scotia's grade took the biggest tumble, while Manitoba, Prince Edward Island and the Northwest Territories all received failing grades for making little or no progress.
"In a time of economic uncertainty and restraint, one of the best, low-cost stimulus measures governments can undertake is cutting red tape," said Hachey, "it's also a way to help boost productivity - an area where New Brunswick currently lags."
The table below displays the grades from 2011 and the new 2012 rankings.
For further information or to set up an interview with Leanne Hachey, contact Jocelyn Mattatall at (506) 855-2526 or email msnb@cfib.ca.
As Canada's largest association of small- and medium-sized businesses, CFIB is Powered by EntrepreneursTM. Established in 1971, CFIB 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.
