Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement (RIAS): Medium- and High-Impact Template
We have archived this page and will not be updating it. 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.
Executive summary (maximum 60 lines)
Issue: A brief statement to describe the issues or problems that the regulation will address and why government intervention is needed.
Description: A brief description of the proposed regulation.
Cost-benefit statement: A statement of the total costs, including a statement on the impacts on competition and consumers if applicable, and a short statement of what the benefits would be to protect and advance the public interest in health, safety and security, the quality of the environment, and the social and economic well-being of Canadians. Include the total estimated costs, benefits (if applicable) and net benefits[1] of the proposal or, if not available, a statement of how the proposed option maximizes net benefits.
“One-for-One” Rule and small business lens: A statement on whether the “One-for-One” Rule applies and a statement on the total administrative cost increase (if considered an “IN” under the “One-for-One” Rule) or decrease (if considered an “OUT”). Also include a statement on whether the small business lens applies and the total cost savings for small business if the lens applies and flexibility is provided.
Domestic and international coordination and cooperation (if applicable): A statement on domestic and international coordination and cooperation, including trade impacts. When specific Canadian requirements are proposed, include a statement of the rationale for the Canadian approach.
Background (if applicable)
Provide background information, including context, description of the legislative regime, and program design, etc. Ensure that the background presented is relevant to the proposed regulatory action (maximum one page in length).
Issue
Clearly specify the issues or problems that have prompted the consideration of government action. This section should describe the public policy issue(s), including a description of any risk assessment, and demonstrate why government intervention is needed, including the consequences of not regulating.
The risk assessment is available at (insert the URL of your departmental website).
Objectives
State the objectives of the proposed regulation in concrete terms and its broader policy context.
Description
Provide a description of the proposed regulation. Summarize the regulatory text in non-legal and readily accessible language.
Regulatory and non-regulatory options considered
(For guidance, consult Assessing, Selecting, and Implementing Instruments for Government Action and the Canadian Cost-Benefit Analysis Guide: Regulatory Proposals.)
Describe the regulatory and non-regulatory options, including the baseline scenario and any other regulatory actions considered, and the key differences between the options. Also explain why regulation was chosen as the instrument to address the issue.
Benefits and costs
(For guidance, consult the Canadian Cost-Benefit Analysis Guide: Regulatory Proposals.)
Quantify (qualify when not possible to quantify) the benefits, costs and net benefits of the selected option, including how the impacts may be distributed across various stakeholders, sectors or regions. When a cost-benefit analysis or a risk assessment is done, a cost-benefit statement must be included in the RIAS to clearly communicate costs and benefits.
The full cost-benefit analysis is available at (insert the URL of your departmental website).
| Base Year | Final Year | Total
(PV)[3] |
Annualized Average[4] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benefits By Stakeholder[5] | ||||
| Costs By Stakeholder[5] | ||||
| Net Benefits | ||||
| B. Quantified Impacts in Non-$ (e.g., from a risk assessment) | ||||
| Positive Impacts
By Stakeholder |
||||
| Negative Impacts
By Stakeholder |
||||
| C. Qualitative Impacts | ||||
| Short list of qualitative impacts (positive and negative) by stakeholder. | ||||
Report on the impact on the economy, competition, businesses, consumers, and on domestic and international trade (exports and imports).
Describe how the selected option has been developed to minimize costs to businesses, consumers and Canadians, and minimize adverse impacts on competition, health, safety, security, the environment or the economy.
“One-for-One” Rule
(For more information, consult Controlling Administrative Burden That Regulations Impose on Business: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat Guidance for the “One-for-One” Rule.)
State whether the “One-for-One” Rule applies and whether the proposal is considered an IN or an OUT under the rule. If a “carve-out” is being sought, state the type of carve-out and provide a brief rationale for the carve-out. If the rule does not apply because there are no administrative cost increases or decreases on business, include the following statement (or a similar statement): “The ‘One-for-One’ Rule does not apply to this proposal, as there is no change in administrative costs to business.”
Describe the increase in administrative costs (if IN) or decrease (if OUT). State the total annualized administrative costs increase (if IN) or decrease (if OUT) and describe the assumptions associated with their monetization. The annualized increase or decrease must be presented in terms of total administrative costs to all businesses as well as the average administrative cost per business.
Note that the following parameters must be used to monetize INs and OUTs:
- A forecasted impact time period of 10 years beginning in the year the IN comes into force or the OUT will be repealed;
- A price base year of 2012 (all valuations must be presented in constant year 2012 prices);
- A present value base year of 2012 (increases (INs) or decreases (OUTs) must be discounted back to 2012); and
- A 7 per cent discount rate. Note: this is a real discount rate; as such, estimates should not be adjusted for inflation prior to discounting.
Summarize the consultation activities and stakeholder feedback on the department’s estimates of administrative costs or savings to business (if any).
Small business lens
(For guidance, consult Hardwiring Sensitivity to Small Business Impacts of Regulation: Guide to the Small Business Lens.)
If the small business lens does not apply because there is no change in costs to small business, include the following statement (or a similar statement): “The small business lens does not apply to this proposal, as there are no costs to small business.”
If the small business lens does not apply because costs to small business would decrease, state the total quantified decrease in administrative and compliance costs to small business in this section or as part of the cost-benefit statement.
Describe how small businesses were consulted and what their views were. Drawing upon answers to the Small Business Lens Checklist, describe how the needs of small businesses were accommodated in the design of the proposed regulation, as appropriate.
Briefly describe the initial option considered as well as the flexible alternative option for small businesses, and complete the table below (can be cut and pasted from the reporting tab of the Regulatory Cost Calculator).
| Initial Option | Flexible Option | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short description | (e.g., all firms face the same reporting requirements) | (e.g., small businesses can report less frequently) | ||
| Number of small businesses impacted | ||||
| Annualized average ($) | Present value[7] ($) | Annualized average ($) | Present value[7] ($) | |
| Compliance costs (itemize if appropriate) | ||||
| Administrative costs (itemize if appropriate) | ||||
| Total costs (all small businesses) | ||||
| Total cost per small business | ||||
| Risk considerations | ||||
| Note: Costs have been estimated using the Standard Cost Model. Detailed calculations are available upon request. | ||||
Indicate which option is selected.
Reverse onus: If the flexible option for small business identified through the regulatory flexibility analysis above is not the selected option, provide a justification.
Attach the completed checklist as an appendix to the RIAS.
Consultation
(For guidance, refer to the Guidelines for Effective Regulatory Consultations.)
Describe the consultation process, the main views of consulted parties and how they were taken into account.
Regulatory cooperation (if applicable)
Highlight regulatory cooperation activities that have taken place or cooperation efforts that have been undertaken with other provinces or levels of government in Canada, the United States and internationally.
Describe how the proposed regulation minimizes regulatory differences with key trading partners (e.g., the United States), and/or between provinces and territories, including through regulatory alignment, mutual recognition and the development of compatible approaches.
If coordinated or cooperative regulatory approaches have not been used, describe why not. When specific Canadian requirements are proposed, describe the rationale for the Canadian approach.
Indicate whether this proposal is related to a commitment under the Joint Action Plan for the Canada-United States Regulatory Cooperation Council.
(For guidance, consult Guidelines on International Regulatory Obligations and Cooperation.)
Rationale
Summarize and provide a conclusion as to why the proposed regulatory option is needed and was selected over other alternatives. The proposed option should be based on a rationale that derives from the analysis provided above, including costs and benefits and consultation results.
Describe why this regulatory option results in the greatest overall benefit and how it will meet the objectives stated above, how it is proportionate to the degree and type of risk presented by the issue, and why it will not unduly impact other areas or sectors.
Implementation, enforcement and service standards
Describe the implementation plan, including any communication or outreach activities, dates of effect, partner institutions and how cooperation and coordination will be applied to ensure effective and efficient implementation.
Identify the service standard associated with the regulatory program (when required), and describe how the department will monitor its performance against the standard.
Describe existing or proposed compliance and enforcement strategies, including any consequences for non-compliance (e.g., penalties, warnings, etc.), and the planning undertaken to ensure adequate resource allocation and training, where necessary. If additional resources are not required, describe how the activities will be funded.
Performance measurement and evaluation (if applicable)
Restate the objectives in the form of measurable outcomes, and describe or summarize the performance measurement and evaluation plan (when required) for the regulatory program, including timelines for follow-up. If applicable, indicate whether the performance measurement of the regulation will be incorporated into existing performance frameworks and how they will be reported.
Contact
Identify the contact person(s) for public enquiries.
Notes
- ↑ Costs, benefits and net benefits presented in the summary should match the cost-benefit statement table and use the same measures (e.g., present value, annualized averages, etc.), base years and parameters (e.g., discount rate, time period, etc.). For example, if a submission reports estimates as present values, the costs, benefits and net benefits should all be reported in present values, using the same time period, discount rate, base year (i.e., price level or constant dollars of year YYYY), etc. Specify in the summary the measure and the base year used, e.g., “present value of $40 million in costs, 2012 price level.”
- ↑ Indicate in notes below the table the time period (minimum 10 years) as well as the discount rate used for the analysis (real discount rate of 7 per cent recommended), and any relevant assumptions or details that a qualified person wanting to reproduce the analysis would need to know.
- ↑ Present value.
- ↑ Section 5.3 of the Canadian Cost-Benefit Analysis Guide: Regulatory Proposals describes how annualized averages are calculated.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 A “small business” stakeholder group should be included if the small business lens is applicable to the proposal.
- ↑ Use the same parameters as for the cost-benefit statement, i.e., Canadian dollars, minimum 10‑year time horizon using a 7 per cent discount rate,
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Indicate in notes below the table the time period and the price level / constant dollar year used for the analysis, as well as any relevant assumptions or details that a qualified person wanting to reproduce the analysis would need to know.
