Inside Regulatory Affairs - December 2021

As we close 2021, we are taking a moment to reflect on the challenges, successes and lessons learned from the past year. It has been a year of growth and change. We are proud of the work that we, in collaboration with our partners in the federal public service, with the provinces and territories and with stakeholders have accomplished in response to the pandemic. As we look to 2022 and the path to a post-pandemic recovery, we remain as committed as ever to reducing regulatory barriers and modernizing Canada’s federal regulatory system.

Since our last newsletter, we have welcomed the Honourable Mona Fortier as the President of the Treasury Board.

Within the Regulatory Affairs Sector, we are pleased to welcome Barbara Moran as the new Executive Director of Governor in Council Operations.

The RAS annual report (2020–2021)

The annual report was published on Monday, December 20, 2021.

This year’s annual report provides statistics on the benefits and costs of federal regulations, the one-for-one rule, and the Administrative Burden Baseline. New this year, we have included a chapter reporting  on regulatory modernization initiatives that encourage competitiveness, agility and innovation in the regulatory system.

If you would like to know more about items included in the report or if you have thoughts on ways that we could improve future annual reports, we would like to hear from you. Please email your questions  and suggestions to [[1]].

Updated rankings in the 2021 OECD Regulatory Policy Outlook

The 2021 Regulatory Policy Outlook tracks how OECD countries develop, implement and review their laws and regulations against the principles set out in the 2012 OECD Recommendation of the Council on Regulatory Policy and Governance. The report ranked Canada third in stakeholder engagement, fifth in regulatory impact assessment and sixth in ex post-evaluation among the 39 jurisdictions surveyed by the OECD. The rankings help the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat to identify areas of success and potential areas of focus to continue to modernize Canada’s federal regulatory system.

The Regulatory Reconciliation and Cooperation Table (RCT) workplans

The RCT’s 2021-2022 workplan was recently published on the CFTA’s webpage. It includes updates on existing workplan items and added two new ones:

• Identification and mutual recognition of regulatory measures related to the sale or provision of goods and services and;
• Temporary rapid registration for workers in times of urgent need (e.g., floods, epidemics)

Additionally, the RCT’s 2020 annual report was published over the summer and highlights key milestones on fall protection, CRN for Pressure Equipment, and upholstered and stuffed goods.  

Agile Nations First Work Programme

Established in 2020, Agile Nations is an international regulatory cooperation forum intended to create innovation-friendly regulatory environments. The forum consists of Canada, Denmark, Italy, Singapore, Japan, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

In October 2021, the Agile Nations approved their first work programme, in which Canada has committed to working with partner countries on regulatory issues such as piloting digital credentials technologies and coordinating and leveraging new technologies to enhance the flow of air cargo. Canada will also be collaborating on issues related to cybersecurity, pro-innovation regulatory approaches, and more. For more information on these projects, view the full work programme.