Red Tape Report Card: Manitoba earns top mark in 2020

Province receives best-in-class A grade for regulatory systems and measurement

Winnipeg, January 21, 2020 – The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) announced the Government of Manitoba received an A grade on the Red Tape Report Card for the third consecutive year. The province also performed well in the two new measures of overall regulatory burden and willingness to reduce interprovincial red tape irritants.

CFIB’s executive vice-president, Laura Jones, joined Premier Brian Pallister in Winnipeg yesterday to present Manitoba with an early A grade and discuss the province’s efforts to improve accountability and breakdown trade barriers on this important file.  

“Manitoba has the most comprehensive measure of regulations across North America,” said Laura Jones. “This work will help save time and money for businesses, residents, non-profits and government.” 

“Our government is proud to lead the way in reducing interprovincial trade barriers which is critical to the competitiveness and economic growth of our province and country,” said Premier Brian Pallister. “Reducing red tape and regulatory burdens for small business is key to improving accountability, transparency and the services we deliver to all Manitobans.”

CFIB’s current report card is based on three simple criteria: political leadership; measurement and whether there is some form of regulatory budget in place (such as a reduction target or one-in-one-out policy). It also includes additional information on burden and on openness to removing interprovincial red tape irritants. These two new categories are not yet graded but will be next year. 

The 2020 Red Tape Report Card grades are:

N/A = Too soon after an election to know the government’s regulatory accountability commitments

“It’s exciting to evolve the report card, and I believe Manitoba can remain a top performer next year,” added Jones. “While the province has strong systems in place, they need to focus on reducing red tape and improving regulation going forward.”  

The Government of Manitoba is also a finalist this year for CFIB’s Golden Scissors Award, to cut red tape and improve regulations in their jurisdiction. The winners and honourable mentions for the Golden Scissors Award will be announced on Thursday, January 23. 

For more information on this year’s grades and the new criteria on which governments will be graded in the next edition, consult the 2020 Red Tape Report Card.

CFIB’s 11th annual Red Tape Awareness Week™ encourages governments across the country to take the initiative and launch their own red tape reduction strategies. Regulations cost small businesses $36.2 billion annually, $10 billion of which is unnecessary red tape, according to CFIB’s research. To learn more visit CFIB.ca/redtape and follow #redtape.

For media inquiries or interviews with Jonathan Alward, CFIB’s director, prairie region, please call 204-982-0817 or email msman@cfib.ca. You can also follow CFIB Manitoba on Twitter @cfibmb.

About CFIB
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 110,000 members (4,800 in Manitoba) across every industry and region. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners’ chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings.