Halifax, January 23, 2016 – To kick off its annual Red Tape Awareness Week, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is issuing a red tape challenge to provincial and territorial governments across the country to follow the example set federally and legislate a one-for-one law.
The Premiers’ Charter of Governing Principles for Regulation, shared by the Atlantic provinces, contains a reference to a one-for-one rule, but no province has yet made it the law.
“Our region is over regulated for its size and red tape is a disproportionate drag on the Atlantic economy,” said Jordi Morgan, Vice-President Atlantic for CFIB. “A one-for-one constraint forces governments to focus on the most important rules while weeding out the overgrowth of red tape that accumulates over time and puts a major damper on business growth.”
Canada recently became the first country in the world to legislate a one-for-one law when the Red Tape Reduction Act received near-unanimous support in Parliament in 2015. While encouraging premiers to adopt their own comprehensive one-for-one laws, CFIB is also encouraging the federal government to broaden the scope of its law to include more rules.
“Our goal is to help government understand the need to first reduce the number of rules in the system, and then act to cap them. BC is successful with this approach, achieving a 47 per cent reduction in the number of rules relative to 2001,” continued Morgan. “Making the one-for-one rule law in Nova Scotia would draw a line in the sand on red tape currently faced by businesses.”
According to CFIB’s latest estimates, the cost of regulation on small business across Canada totals at least $37 billion per year. While the need for regulations is clear, many are very costly relative to the benefits they deliver, or are duplicative of other rules. It’s estimated 30 per cent of the cost of regulation, or $11 billion, could be eliminated without any negative impact on human health, safety, or the environment.
CFIB has worked hard over the years to help all levels of government understand the perspective of small businesses on this important issue. With the Premiers’ Charter already in place we are eager to see Nova Scotia be the first government within the Atlantic region to accept our one-for-one challenge.
For more information about Red Tape Awareness Week™, please visit cfib.ca/redtape.
To arrange an interview with Jordi Morgan, please contact Ryan Richard at 902-420-1997 or ryan.richard@cfib.ca.
CFIB is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 109,000 members across every sector and region.
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