Canada’s red tape report card: BC, Quebec lead; Alberta lags behind

Progress made in the battle against unnecessary regulations across Canada

Toronto/Calgary, January 24, 2017 – Today, during Red Tape Awareness Week™, 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.  The Alberta government received a failing “F” grade.

“Reducing the regulatory burden is not a high priority for the Alberta government, in fact it’s not a priority at all.  Cutting red tape would inject a much needed boost in the economy, but instead of taking action onerous rules are piling up on this government’s watch,” said Amber Ruddy, Director of Provincial Affairs for Alberta.

CFIB has been asking governments to take the first step to being accountable by getting on the red tape scale.  “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.  Both provinces have shown strong leadership in dealing with red tape, have established a comprehensive measure of the regulatory burden, and has 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,” proclaimed Jones.  “Along with Quebec, they are showing the rest of the country how it’s done.  Now we encourage them, and all the provinces and territories, to take up our challenge and legislate a one-for-one law.”

Government red tape is a hidden tax that affects Canada’s small businesses much more than larger firms.  According to CFIB’s latest research, regulations across all three levels of government cost about $4.6 billion annually in Alberta, with one-third of that ($1.5 billion) considered red tape.

For more details about the report card, visit www.cfib.ca/. To arrange an interview with Laura Jones, please contact Kiara Morrissey at 416-222-8022 or public.affairs@cfib.ca. To speak with Amber Ruddy, Alberta Director, please contact msalb@cfib.ca or 1 866-444-9290.

CFIB is Canada’s largest association of small- and medium-sized businesses with 109,000 members across every sector and region.