Cabinet Directive on Regulatory Management

Our Commitment to Canadians

1. The Government of Canada is committed to protecting and advancing the public interest by working with Canadians and other governments to ensure that its regulatory activities result in the greatest overall benefit to current and future generations of Canadians.

2. When regulating, the government will:

• 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, as expressed by Parliament in legislation;
• Advance the efficiency and effectiveness of regulation by ascertaining that the benefits of regulation justify the costs, by focusing human and financial resources where they can do the most good, and by demonstrating tangible results for Canadians;
• Make decisions based on evidence and on the best available knowledge and science in Canada and worldwide, while recognizing that the application of precaution may be necessary when there is an absence of full scientific certainty and a risk of serious or irreversible harm;
• Promote a fair and competitive market economy that encourages entrepreneurship, investment, and innovation;
• Monitor and control the administrative burden (i.e., red tape) of regulations on business and be sensitive to the burden that regulations place on small business;
• Create accessible, understandable, and responsive regulation through engagement, transparency, accountability, and public scrutiny; and
• Require timeliness, policy coherence, and minimal duplication throughout the regulatory process by consulting, coordinating, and cooperating across the federal government, with other governments and jurisdictions in Canada and abroad, and with businesses and Canadians.

Introduction

3. Regulation is a key policy instrument used by government to enable economic activity and to protect the health, safety, security, and environment of Canadians.

4. Regulations are a form of law—they have binding legal effect and usually set out rules that apply generally, rather than to specific persons or situations. Often referred to as "delegated," "secondary," or "subordinate legislation," regulations are made by persons to whom or bodies to which Parliament has delegated authority, such as Cabinet (the Governor in Council), a minister, or an administrative agency. Authority to make regulations must be expressly delegated through enabling legislation.

5. Regulation is a necessary foundation of market economies. A robust and effective regulatory system provides consistency, fairness, and transparency, and supports innovation, productivity, and competition.

6. An effective regulatory system is not just for protective purposes. Regulation often is an enabler. For example, in the economic sphere, it establishes the rules for fair markets, reduces barriers to trade through alignment with trading partners, clarifies conditions for the use of new products, services, and technologies, and fosters new investment.

Scope of Application

7. Federal departments, agencies, and entities: The Cabinet Directive on Regulatory Management applies to all federal departments, agencies, and entities over which the Cabinet has either general authority or a specific authority relating to regulation making, or both such authorities:

• Federal departments, agencies, and entities under the general authority of Cabinet include all of the public administration, including ministers, with the exception of certain federal entities that are created by statute and that have an existence, a mandate, and powers with substantial independence from the government.
• Entities not under the general authority of Cabinet must comply with the Directive if the Governor in Council or the Treasury Board has a specific authority related to regulation making.
• Entities not under the general authority of Cabinet and over which Cabinet does not have a specific authority should, as a matter of good regulatory practice, follow the Directive and apply its requirements as appropriate to their context.

8. Instruments: The Directive applies to all secondary legislation, that is, all prescriptive documents made by entities to which the Directive applies as set out in sections 7 (i), (ii) and (iii) and for which Parliament has delegated authority. These instruments include the following:

• All documents that are regulations under the Statutory Instruments Act;2 and
• All other documents made under the authority of an Act of Parliament that are of a legislative nature.

9. The Directive applies to all stages of the regulatory life cycle (i.e., planning, development, implementation, evaluation, and review), including regulatory management.

Effective Date

This Directive takes effect on the day the One-for-One legislation comes into force. The Directive updates and replaces the Cabinet Directive on Regulatory Management (dated October 2012).

The Life Cycle Approach to Regulating

11. The Cabinet Directive on Regulatory Management confirms a "life cycle" approach to regulation making. The life cycle approach recognizes that attention must be given not only to regulatory development and analysis but also to the implementation, evaluation, and review of regulations. As a result, the life cycle approach improves the effectiveness, efficiency, and accountability of the regulatory system to support the government's commitment to Canadians.

Regulatory Impact Analysis

12. In consultation with the Regulatory Affairs Sector of the Treasury Board Secretariat, departments and agencies will assess the impact of regulatory proposals at an early stage to determine where approval processes can be streamlined and where resources should be focused. The following factors will be considered in this assessment:

• Potential impact of the regulation on health and safety, security, the environment, and the social and economic well-being of Canadians;
• Cost or savings to government, business, or Canadians, and the potential impact on the Canadian economy and its international competitiveness;
• Potential impact on other federal departments or agencies, on other governments in Canada, and on Canada's foreign affairs;
• Degree of interest, contention, and support among affected parties and among Canadians; and
• Overall expected impact: Recognizing that regulatory impact analysis can be resource intensive, the Directive emphasizes the principle of proportionality—analysis should be focused where it is most needed. Therefore, at the earliest stages of regulatory design, departments and agencies must assess the regulatory proposal, in consultation with the Regulatory Affairs Sector of the Treasury Board Secretariat, to determine its overall expected impact (i.e., low, medium or high) and the particular analytical and other requirements to be met.

13. Emergency situations: When there is an immediate and serious risk to the health and safety of Canadians, their security, the environment, or the economy, an expedited process may be required. In these cases, departments and agencies will work with the Regulatory Affairs Sector of the Treasury Board Secretariat to proceed in a manner that most effectively protects the public interest.

14. Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement (RIAS): A statement summarizing the analysis undertaken to design a regulatory proposal under this Directive is to be published in the Canada Gazette in accordance with appropriate guidance from the Regulatory Affairs Sector of the Treasury Board Secretariat.