Red tape warriors hailed with Golden Scissors Awards; Sask public servants receive Honourable Mention

CFIB’s 10th Red Tape Awareness Week™ showcases leaders fighting red tape

Regina, January 24, 2019 – Former President of the Treasury Board Scott Brison, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil and City of Halifax Mayor Mike Savage, are 2019’s Golden Scissors recipients, awarded by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) for their leadership in cutting red tape.

The Golden Scissors Awards recognize governments, politicians and public servants who are taking meaningful action to help small and medium-sized businesses by eliminating unnecessary red tape. Traditionally, CFIB has awarded only one winner per year, but to mark the 10th anniversary of Red Tape Awareness Week™, a winner from each level of government is being recognized. Hon. Scott. Brison, Premier McNeil and Mr. Savage will receive their awards today at a ceremony in Halifax, NS. Premier Ford was awarded yesterday at an event in Toronto.

“After 10 years of fighting red tape, we are seeing great progress across the country. The 2019 Golden Scissors Award winners are all taking decisive action to reduce unnecessary and burdensome regulations,” said Richard Truscott, CFIB’s vice-president of British Columbia and Alberta. “Like a cluttered closet, red tape only gets worse and harder to untangle the longer it is left unchecked. Tracking and reducing the red tape burden should be an ongoing priority for every government. We commend the winners for their exceptional commitment to red tape reduction.”

A number of provincial government officials receive Honourable Mention for reducing the number of templates for bidding on government work

“We congratulate Ron Dedman, the former Vice President, Priority Saskatchewan/SaskBuilds, Greg Lusk, the Assistant Vice President, Priority Saskatchewan/SaskBuilds, Glenn Deck, the Director of Procurement, Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure, Al Duchscher, the Director of Purchasing, SGI, Chris Weitzel, Senior Counsel, Corporate Legal, SGI, and Rob Isbister, the Director of Purchasing, Ministry of Central Services for their joint work on reducing the number of templates for bidding on government work from over 100 to only eight,” stated Jennifer Henshaw, CFIB’s Senior Policy Analyst for the Prairie region. “This practical, common sense change will result in considerable red tape savings for Saskatchewan businesses estimated at more than $16.3 million annually, and $1.75 million for government.”

These are the accomplishments that the 2019 winners are recognized for:

  • Former Treasury Board President Scott Brison, for his dedication during his tenure to ongoing regulatory modernization in the federal government especially on issues such as restrictions on aquaculture organic labeling and unnecessary grade inspection requirements for apples and blueberries.
  • Ontario Premier Doug Ford for the provincial government’s major overhaul of labour changes through Bill 47 and his leadership on cross-government red tape reduction for small businesses. The Act phases out the College of Trades, cuts red tape on hiring and training in the skilled trades and stops the planned implementation of rules requiring businesses to track every movement of their scheduled employees into and out of the office or face stiff penalties.
  • Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil and Halifax Mayor Mike Savage for teaming up through the Joint Project for Regulatory Modernization. With input from the business community and key leaders, red tape pain points are being identified and resolved.

There are also three Honourable Mentions for the Golden Scissors Awards:

  • BC Ministry of Citizens’ Services, Service BC and the BC Ministry of Jobs, Trade and Technology for streamlining the death certification process by creating a simple, easy-to-navigate guide for people dealing with the death of a loved one.
  • Ron Dedman, the former Vice President, Priority Saskatchewan/SaskBuilds, Greg Lusk, the Assistant Vice President, Priority Saskatchewan/SaskBuilds, Glenn Deck, the Director of Procurement, Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure, Al Duchscher, the Director of Purchasing, SGI, Chris Weitzel, Senior Counsel, Corporate Legal, SGI, and Rob Isbister, the Director of Purchasing, Ministry of Central Services, for their leadership on reducing procurement red tape, reducing the number of templates for bidding on work from over 100 to eight and creating a procurement guide, resulting in savings estimated at more than $16.3 million annually for business and $1.75 million for government. 
  • Gatineau Mayor Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin for innovative use of omnibus packages to rapidly streamline large swaths of incoherent or outdated rules all at once rather than using a piecemeal approach.

“Business owners, citizens and government all suffer when red tape is out of control but reducing the regulatory burden rarely receives the recognition it deserves,” added Laura Jones, CFIB’s executive vice-president. “It’s important to say thank you to the governments and public servants who are tackling this difficult work and hold them up as examples of governance done right.”

The full list of the 2019 Golden Scissors honourees and more details on their achievements is available at www.cfib.ca/GoldenScissors.

To arrange an interview with Jennifer Henshaw, CFIB’s Senior Policy Analyst for the Prairie region, please call (306) 757-0000, 888 234-2232 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.