Red Tape Report Card: Saskatchewan earns ‘A’ grade again in 2020

Regina, January 21, 2020 – For the first time in its 10-year history, most governments are receiving an ‘A’ or a ‘B’ on the Red Tape Report Card, announced the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB). The Government of Saskatchewan has again received an ‘A’ grade on the Red Tape Report Card. This is the second consecutive ‘A’ grade for the province.

“Ten years ago governments didn’t think it was important to be accountable for regulation in the same way they are accountable for spending and taxes. This is pretty incredible when you think about how important regulation is and how destructive excessive regulation or red tape can be,” said Laura Jones, CFIB’s executive vice-president.

“We’re pleased the Government of Saskatchewan continues to make red tape reduction a top priority, as evidenced by maintaining its ‘A’ grade in 2020,” said Marilyn Braun-Pollon, CFIB’s vice-president, Western Canada & Agri-business. “It is impressive that as of 2018-19, Saskatchewan has publicly reported over $450 million in cumulative, forecasted red tape savings over the next 10 years, far exceeding the province’s initial targeted objective of at least $5 million annually.”

“The Government of Saskatchewan is committed to ensuring our stakeholders are able to do business in a healthy regulatory environment,” said Saskatchewan Minister of Trade and Export Development Jeremy Harrison. “The province’s Growth Plan has a significant number of action items aimed at reducing red tape to ensure our businesses are able to operate in the most effective and efficient way possible. When our businesses succeed, our economy succeeds.”

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). Information on regulatory burden and interprovincial red tape is included in the appendix. The Government of Saskatchewan created the Red Tape Reduction Committee to oversee red tape reduction efforts. It also increased its focus on red tape reduction in November 2019 when it announced a New Business Advisory Panel to identify red tape cutting priorities, including recognizing the importance of working with municipalities to reduce red tape for businesses.

For the eighth year in a row, the Government of Saskatchewan is a finalist for CFIB’s Golden Scissors Award. The finalist is the Minister of Trade & Export Development Jeremy Harrison for introducing Saskatchewan’s ‘Help Cut Red Tape’ Web Portal, which lets business owners fast track their red tape concerns. The winners & honourable mentions for the Golden Scissors Award will be announced on Thursday, January 23.

This year’s report card 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

“When we started grading governments, we had a lot of underachievers—most didn’t even know how many rules and regulations they were piling on their citizens and businesses. We’re proud to see so many governments at the top of the class when it comes to regulatory accountability,” concluded Jones. “We are confident that they will take these new challenges in stride and continue the important work of reducing the red tape burden for the benefit of all Canadians.”

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.

To arrange an interview with Marilyn Braun-Pollon, CFIB’s Vice-President, Western Canada & Agri-business, please call (306) 757-0000 or email mssask@cfib.ca. You may follow CFIB Saskatchewan on Twitter @cfibsk.

About CFIB
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 110,000 members (5,250 in Saskatchewan) 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. Learn more at cfib.ca.