As part of the country’s second annual Red Tape Awareness Week, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) today issued a Provincial Report Card reviewing regulatory reforms made by Canada’s federal and provincial governments.

The grades show that all provinces have room to improve. British Columbia gets the highest grade of B+. Its government has shown leadership by measuring the overall regulatory burden, setting reduction targets and reporting publicly for almost a decade.

Nova Scotia has reduced the amount of time entrepreneurs spend on red tape by 123,000 hours a year. It also gets a good grade on the report card. But Manitoba, Alberta and the territories have done very little to be more accountable and get failing grades.

The following report card is a general assessment of the progress made to-date by governments in Canada on regulatory accountability:

• British Columbia B+
• Nova Scotia B
• Newfoundland and Labrador B
• Quebec C+
• Federal government C+
• Saskatchewan C+
• Ontario C-
• New Brunswick C-
• Prince Edward Island D
• Manitoba F
• Alberta F
• Yukon F
• Northwest Territories F

To date, the Manitoba government has largely focused its regulatory reform efforts on making it easier for businesses to comply with the existing regulatory burden by making more information and reporting available online, for example.

“While that’s a good start, small business owners in Manitoba are telling us that the existing load is too great. Simply improving service delivery isn’t going to yield long-term, meaningful red tape relief. We need to lighten the load in Manitoba,” said Janine Carmichael, CFIB’s Manitoba Director.

To improve its grade, the Manitoba government should measure the total regulatory burden, set a reduction target and publicly report on their progress – a three-step approach that is widely recognized in Canada and internationally. “As we head into a provincial election this fall, meaningful red tape relief is a low-cost commitment all parties should adopt,” Carmichael concluded.

For the detailed report card visit: cfib-fcei.ca/redtape