FREE ME FROM MUNICIPAL RED TAPE THAT’S STRANGLING MY BUSINESS!

Municipal elections will be held across Ontario on Monday, October 26. Are you frustrated by excessive forms, processes and rules for municipal permits, signs, and business licensing? Sign our petition to cut municipal red tape!

1. The average Canadian small business owner spends 32 business days every year on red tape across all government levels.

2. Canadian small businesses face over $50B in regulatory costs every year (over $20B in Ontario alone), and these costs keep rising!

3. Every year, the smallest Canadian businesses (fewer than 5 employees) pay over five times more per employee in compliance costs than larger businesses (100+ employees).

4. A 36% reduction in Ontario’s regulatory burden could be achieved without compromising health, safety, or environmental objectives.

5. A resounding 88% of Ontario small businesses say it’s important that their municipal government is committed to reducing red tape.

Illustration of a building, an office chair, and a small business owner wrapped in red tape above a scroll banner titled Five Red Tape Facts. A parchment-style scroll displays the numbers 1 through 5 in a vertical list, representing key red tape facts.

All Mayors in Ontario

Make municipal red tape reduction a priority NOW!

Unnecessary, excessive, and duplicative paperwork and rules keep me from excelling at what I do best – creating jobs and growing our economy!

Municipal irritants make up a huge part of the red tape burdens I face every day. I’m particularly frustrated by red tape related to property and business taxes, building and renovation permits, business licensing, and sign bylaws.

As a small business, I don’t have a compliance department or a lawyer on speed dial to help me navigate ever-changing rules and paperwork requirements. Excessive regulation stresses me out and discourages me from recommending entrepreneurship to my children.

If you want to see more small businesses start and stay in our community, please cut municipal red tape now!

I am calling on you to:

  • Establish a Red Tape Reduction Commissioner and Red Tape Reduction Office and designate existing staff to these responsibilities.
  • Count all municipal by-laws, policies, and forms (e.g., for permits and licensing) to establish a regulatory burden baseline, and carefully review them to identify unnecessary, excessive, and duplicative requirements.
  • Create a Red Tape Feedback Portal where businesses and citizens can report regulatory challenges directly to their municipality.
CFIB logo

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 103,000 members 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.