Alberta has made major strides in the Canadian Federation of Independent Business’s annual Red Tape Report Card.
The CFIB said Tuesday that Alberta went from an F last year to a B- this year. The province had registered an F for three consecutive years.
“The government was newly elected in April 2019 and has begun to make red tape reduction a priority. The public has also been asked for their feedback on red tape, which they are able to submit through an online web submission form, found at cutredtape.ca. Through this portal, over 3,900 submissions have been received. A total of 60 red tape initiatives have been completed since the beginning of the mandate,” said the report on Alberta’s efforts to cut red tape under the leadership of Premier Jason Kenney.
For the first time in its 10-year history, most governments received an A or a B on the national report.
“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, in a statement.
“An interesting picture is emerging. Some provinces, like Ontario, get good grades for being accountable but still have relatively high regulatory burdens. British Columbia stands out for having a long track record of measurement and has done a good job reducing its requirements to a fraction of the regulatory restrictions of the more heavily regulated provinces. Quebec is really committed to measurement and reduction. Manitoba is also one to watch for ongoing good grades with arguably the best measurement methodology and a strong commitment to reducing interprovincial red tape.”
CFIB’s report card is based on three 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).
“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,” said 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.”
Mario Toneguzzi is a business reporter in Calgary.
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