CFIB released its annual Red Tape Report Card as part of its third annual Red Tape Awareness Week. Nova Scotia's grade took the biggest tumble in the country, dropping from last year's 'B' to a disappointing 'D'.
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.
Watch this video to hear directly about the impact of red tape from a Yarmouth-based small business owner.
Yarmouth, Nova Scotia: Nhung's Story
In the past, Nova Scotia was a leader in red tape reform, successfully meeting its four-year commitment to reduce the paperwork burden by 20 per cent in 2010.
For the past year, government stopped its paper burden measure, nor has it publicly reported the red tape burden. It also introduced a series of onerous and questionable regulations last year, including First Contract Arbitration, the Tanning Beds Act, scrap metal legislation, the ski helmet law, and the one-meter rule required between cars and bikes.
Cutting red tape is one of the best, low-cost stimulus measures governments can take and is hopeful the recently announced Better Business plan will get Nova Scotia back on track.
For more information on Red Tape Awareness Week, follow this link: www.cfib.ca/redtape
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