The 2014–15 Scorecard Report on Reducing Regulatory Red Tape

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You can use it for research or reference. Consult our Cabinet Directive on Regulations: Policies, guidance and tools web page for the policy instruments and guidance in effect.

Message From the President of the Treasury Board

As the Minister responsible for federal regulatory policy, I am pleased to invite Canadians to read the 2014-15 Scorecard Report on Reducing Regulatory Red Tape.

I would like to sincerely thank the members of the external Regulatory Advisory Committee for their diligent review and advice on this Scorecard Report. Their independent review and thoughtful commentary are very much appreciated.

The Government of Canada is committed to giving Canadians the open and transparent government they expect and deserve. Canadians also have high standards for the services they receive from their government which is why we are focused on delivering results that make a positive difference in their everyday lives. This Scorecard Report profiles the considerable efforts of federal regulators to make progress on all these fronts.

We are also committed to growing our economy, strengthening the middle class, and helping those working hard to join it. Designing and delivering regulations that advance and protect the public interest, while minimizing the administrative burden on businesses, contribute to that goal. It’s good for Canadians, good for our economy and supports the Government’s objective of helping businesses become more innovative, competitive and successful.

Just as importantly, this report highlights important gains made in opening up the regulatory system, improving service and predictability for stakeholders, and in ensuring public accountability for results achieved. The posting of forward regulatory plans, service performance reporting, a government-wide baseline of administrative burden – all of these initiatives contribute to an open regulatory system, one that invites Canadians to contribute to its improved performance going forward.

In the days ahead, I look forward to working with my colleagues, stakeholders and citizens alike, to make sure Canada’s regulatory system continues to earn the confidence and trust of all Canadians.

Original signed by:

The Honourable Scott Brison President of the Treasury Board

Introduction

Regulation is an important tool for protecting and advancing the health, safety and environment of Canadians, and for creating the conditions for an innovative and prosperous economy. It is a form of law, made by the Governor in Council, a minister or an agency within the delegated authority set out by Parliament.

Federal regulators work in a complex, changing environment, characterized by fast-paced science and technological advancement, increasing trade flows, and integrated supply chains. They must respond to high stakeholder and citizen expectations for openness and meaningful engagement on regulatory proposals, expectations for clear accountability and transparency, and for approaches to enforcement that incorporate a service orientation.

Against this backdrop of opportunity, challenge and change, a consistent focus for federal regulators is the drive to maximize regulatory protection objectives (benefits) while minimizing the costs to Canadians and businesses. This is reflected in the Cabinet Directive on Regulatory Management, which underscores the importance of regulating in ways that maximize net benefits to Canadians. In keeping with this objective, Canada has undertaken a number of reform initiatives with the aim of making the regulatory system more transparent and predictable for businesses and citizens alike. These reforms are as follows:

• The small business lens, which requires a sensitivity to small business impacts in the design of regulations;
• The one-for-one rule, which seeks to control the growth of regulatory administrative burden on business arising from regulations;
• Service standards for high-volume regulatory authorizations and public reporting on regulators’ performance against those standards;
• Forward regulatory plans, where departments post regulatory proposals expected in the following 24-month period, as well as opportunities for stakeholders to engage regulators on the proposed initiatives;
• Interpretation policies, which give businesses clarity on how regulators interpret regulations; and
• An Administrative Burden Baseline, which counts and discloses the total number of administrative requirements imposed by regulations on businesses.

The Annual Scorecard Report summarizes implementation progress for the above initiatives. As in previous years, the Scorecard Report has benefited from the review and advice of the Regulatory Advisory Committee, which reports to the President of the Treasury Board. Comprising external experts from consumer and business groups, the committee provides the President of the Treasury Board with an independent perspective on the fairness and reliability of progress being reported by the federal government.

The Small Business Lens

Reducing burden on Canadian business

The purpose of the small business lens is to require sensitivity to small business impacts in the regulatory development process. Consultation and robust analysis help develop a clear understanding of business realities at the earliest stages of regulatory design.

The lens applies to regulatory proposals that impact small business and have nationwide cost impacts of over $1 million annually. Further to the expectations outlined in the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) guidance document Hardwiring Sensitivity to Small Business Impacts of Regulation: Guide for the Small Business Lens, there are a number of requirements that regulators must consider when designing regulations.

Instruments permis en vertu de la Loi canadienne sur la protection de l'environnement

En plus des pouvoirs réglementaires, la Loi canadienne sur la protection de l'environnement prévoit et permet le recours à des instruments économiques, des objectifs de qualité de l'environnement, des lignes directrices et codes de pratique, des ententes administratives et ententes d'équivalence, des plans de prévention de la pollution, des plans en cas d'urgence environnementale, des avis de collecte de renseignements, un inventaire national de polluants rejetés, d'autres mesures de conformité appelées mesures de rechange en matière de protection de l'environnement et des ordres de conformité sur la protection de l'environnement.