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What is red tape?
Red Tape is non-essential procedures, forms, licences, and regulations that add to the cost of dealing with government. This includes anything obsolete, redundant, wasteful or confusing that diminishes the province's economic competitiveness, and stands in the way of job creation or wastes taxpayers' time and money. Red Tape does NOT include measures that are demonstrably effective and necessary for the protection of public health, safety, and the environment.
What is regulation?
Regulation refers to the instruments by which governments place requirements on enterprises, citizens and government itself. This includes legislation, regulations and related interpretative or administrative policies. These instruments contain regulatory requirements or obligations, compulsions, demands or prohibitions imposed on individuals, entities or activities.
What is the deregulation initiative?
In 2001, government committed to reduce unnecessary red tape and regulation by 1/3 within three years. The deregulation initiative was created to fulfill this commitment. It focussed on the elimination of outdated and unnecessary regulations along with the development and implementation of the regulatory reform policy.
What is the regulatory count?
We established the regulatory count in 2001 so we would have a baseline to measure our progress toward reducing the regulatory burden by 1/3.
To achieve this, we undertook a count of all regulatory requirements imposed by the provincial government, including legislation, regulation, interpretive and administrative policy.
What is regulatory reform?
In 2004, government achieved its goal of reducing unnecessary red tape and regulations by 1/3. A shift was made from ‘deregulation’ to ‘regulatory reform’.
The regulatory reform initiative focuses on achieving a new goal of a ‘zero-net’ increase in regulation between 2004 and 2012. It includes an ongoing commitment to ensure remaining and new regulations comply with regulatory reform policy criteria.
Regulatory reform focuses on creating a modern regulatory environment that encourages prosperity, innovation and opportunity, at the same time, protecting public health, safety and the environment. It is about ensuring regulation is effective, responsive, flexible and results-based. Ultimately, it’s about making it easier for citizens and businesses to comply with government requirements and access programs and services.
What does a ‘zero-net’ increase in regulations mean?
It means that there will not be an increase in the number of regulations that existed when government made this commitment in 2004. This does not mean that new regulations won’t be established between 2004 and 2012. What it means is that when a new regulation is added, we must look for regulations that can be eliminated, while at the same time protecting public health, safety and the environment.
Who is leading the regulatory reform initiative?
The Minister of Small Business and Revenue is also the Minister Responsible for Regulatory Reform. However, each minister is responsible and accountable for regulatory reform within his or her mandate.
The Regulatory Reform Office in the Ministry of Small Business and Revenue is responsible for implementing this cross-government initiative.
How will the government ensure regulatory reform won't impact public health, safety and the environment?
We have been very clear that we will NOT eliminate safeguards that are needed for protection of public health, safety, the environment or consumers. We are keeping this commitment at the forefront as we examine regulations to ensure the protection of public health, safety and the environment.
How will regulatory reform affect the average British Columbian?
We want to make it easier for citizens to understand and comply with government requirements and access our programs and services. Ultimately this means a reduction in the amount of time citizens need to spend interacting with government, including, for example, filling out forms or finding and understanding information.
Citizens will also benefit from efficient and effective regulation that protects public health, safety and the environment.
How will regulatory reform affect small business and industry?
We want to make it easier for business to do business in British Columbia. Regulatory reform focuses on doing just that. We want businesses to spend less time interacting with government and more time growing their business and creating jobs. Ultimately this means less paperwork, streamlined information that is easy to understand and access and clarity about how and what regulations apply to them.
How can I get more information?
Please contact the Regulatory Reform Office.
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