The British Columbia government has taken top spot in Canada when it comes to dealing with bureaucracy for small business, according to a Canadian Federation for Independent Business report.
B.C. and Quebec are the only two provinces to receive an ‘A’ grade when it comes to reducing red tape; the CFIB said they got top marks because they have worked to measure and cut the costs of unnecessary regulations.
“Kudos to British Columbia for showing leadership and continuing to hone in on the unnecessary regulations restraining small businesses,” said CFIB vice-president Laura Jones.
“Along with Quebec, they are showing the rest of the country how it’s done.”
The CFIB said B.C. has made cutting red tape a priority since 2001 when the government announced it planned to cut the regulatory burden by a third in three years. The report points to the Red Tape Reduction Day Act, enacted in 2015, which introduced a number of initiatives to cut red tape.
In 2001, British Columbia had 330,812 regulatory requirements for small businesses. This has since been cut by more than 47%. As well, in 2004, the government announced a cap on a net increase in regulatory requirements.
This cap, however, is not legislated.
“The government should legislate its cap and expand its measure to include any body given authority to regulate on behalf of government,” the CFIB said in the report.
Alberta received a grade of ‘F’ for red-tape reduction. The report said the government of that province has taken no steps to prioritize the reduction of regulations.
@EmmaHampelBIV
