Government Launches Crowd-Sourced Program to Modernize Regulations
News from the Government of Ontario
Posted March 29th, 2016 on Niagara At Large
Queen’s Park, Toronto – Ontario is asking businesses and the public to help identify and improve regulations that are unclear, outdated, redundant or unnecessarily costly.
Premier Kathleen Wynne joined Brad Duguid, Minister of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure, today at Novo Plastics in Markham to launch the Red Tape Challenge, inviting the public to pinpoint problems such as forms that are too complex and technical information that is hard to understand.
Through this innovative online consultation tool, people across Ontario will be able to help identify and eliminate regulatory duplication, lessen compliance burdens, shorten response times and make it easier for businesses and citizens to interact with government.
The Red Tape Challenge will focus on six business sectors over the next two years. It will start with auto parts manufacturing, then focus on food processing, financial services, mining, chemical manufacturing and forestry.
This crowd-sourced program will help deliver on Ontario’s commitment, through the Business Growth Initiative, to develop modern, outcome-focused and evidence-based regulations. The Business Growth Initiative will help foster an innovative and supportive business environment, while protecting environmental and health standards and enhancing worker safety.
Reducing regulatory burden is part of the government’s economic plan to build Ontario up and deliver on its number-one priority to grow the economy and create jobs.
The four-part plan includes investing in talent and skills, including helping more people get and create the jobs of the future by expanding access to high-quality college and university education.
The plan is making the largest investment in public infrastructure in Ontario’s history and investing in a low-carbon economy driven by innovative, high-growth, export-oriented businesses. The plan is also helping working Ontarians achieve a more secure retirement.
QUICK FACTS
- Through the Red Tape Challenge, the public, businesses and industry associations can submit comments about Ontario’s regulatory requirements directly to the government at ontario.ca/redtapechallenge.
- The Red Tape Challenge is modelled on a program from the U.K. of the same name that has achieved substantial results, including saving businesses more than £850 million (about $1.5 billion CDN) per year in costs through changes to 3,000 regulations.
- This is part of the province’s Open Government commitment to create a more transparent, accessible and collaborative government for the people of Ontario.
- Ontario’s 2015 Burden Reduction Report identified a total of $44 million in savings, building on $6 million identified in the 2014 report. This puts the province on track to reach its target of reducing the business burden by $100 million by the end of 2017.
- In recognition of the province’s efforts to reduce red tape, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) awarded the province a B+ grade — the second highest grade awarded in Canada — in its 2016 Red Tape Report Card.
- Ontario’s Business Growth Initiative is helping to grow the economy and create jobs by promoting an innovation-based economy, helping small companies scale up and modernizing regulations for businesses.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
NOW IT IS YOUR TURN. Niagara At Large encourages you to share your views on this post. A reminder that we only post comments by individuals who share their first and last name with them.
Visit Niagara At Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary for and from the greater bi-national Niagara region
Niagara At Large 
Basically, it sounds like the government wants the various corporations to be self regulated. The bottom line is less enforcement of violations. I guess this is the way Wynne compensates the corporations for their donations to the Liberal coffers.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Further to Doyle’s comments, the last time this happened was when St. C. MP Frank Sheehan headed up Mike Harris’ Red Tape Commission, which in large part led to there being no reporting structure on tainted water results in Walkerton. Remember that? 7 deaths, if I recall, and many severely injured.
Be wary of what cuts can do.
LikeLike
The Great Depression of the Dirty Thirties was caused by the elimination of REGULATIONS and the Repeal of the Glass/Steagall Legislation (1933) by Clinton in early 1993 was the fore runner of the Bubble bursting in 2008 NOW this ONTARIO Liberal Government wants to once again elimination Regulation and let industry self Regulate??? Damn it this ONTARIO Liberal government should never have been elected during the last election and if the Citizens have finally learned a sorry lesson they should NEVER be elected ever again.. Wynne is a loser and we are caught up in her quagmire when we gave them a protest win..
LikeLike