Changes Will Help Small Businesses and Cut Unnecessary Red Tape
Ontario introduced legislation today to make it easier for businesses to grow and create more jobs.
The Cutting Unnecessary Red Tape Act, 2017, if passed, would help build a smarter, more modern regulatory environment by rooting out unnecessary burdens and streamlining regulations.
Proposed measures to help small businesses grow and cut red tape include:
- Reducing regulatory costs: Requiring all ministries to offset every dollar of new administrative costs to business by removing $1.25 of old and unnecessary costs.
- Streamlining compliance for small business: Ensuring that undue burdens aren’t placed on small businesses when new or amended regulations are introduced, while maintaining robust environmental, health and safety requirements and other public interest protections.
- International or national standards alignment: Increasing harmonization with other jurisdictions and adopting international or national standards, where appropriate, when developing or reviewing regulations.
- Rewarding good actors: Recognizing businesses that have a good compliance record and lowering their costs by reducing requirements, such as the number of inspections, without compromising the environment health and safety, and other protections.
- Electronic transmission guarantee: Providing businesses the option to electronically submit any required documentation to the Government of Ontario instead of more costly paper submissions.
Other highlights of the Cutting Unnecessary Red Tape Act, 2017 include providing a faster, more efficient way to get a pesticide licence by moving from a paper-based application to online, implementing a number of recommendations from the Business Law Advisory Council to update and reform Ontario’s corporate and commercial law statutes and ensuring businesses have access to the information they need through an online modern business registration system.
Supporting businesses is part of our plan to create jobs, grow our economy and help people in their everyday lives.
Quick Facts
- Cutting Unnecessary Red Tape Act, 2017 supports Ontario’s five-year, $650-million Business Growth Initiative that 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.
- Since 2011, burden reduction initiatives have saved Ontario businesses a total of $152 million and 6.5 million hours, surpassing the province’s goal to save businesses $100 million by the end of 2017. Ontario’s 2017 Burden Reduction Report features 20 government initiatives, including eight new projects that resulted in $22.5 million in cost savings for businesses, and an additional $6.8 million saved through six previously announced projects (or multi-year initiatives) with ongoing impacts.
- The Burden Reduction Act, 2017 amended more than 50 statutes from 11 different ministries to reduce regulatory burdens and practices that cost businesses time and money, while protecting environmental and health standards and enhancing worker safety. The amendments will provide Ontario businesses up to $31 million in savings every year.
- Ontario’s Red Tape Challenge is an innovative online platform 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. In the past 12 months, four sector consultations have been completed with 56,000 website views and 1,100 comments collected on ways to improve our regulatory environment. To date, the challenge has identified 171 opportunities that the government will act on to reduce burdens for businesses. The Red Tape Challenge launched its chemical manufacturing consultation this summer.
Background Information
Additional Resources
Quotes
“Cutting red tape, while maintaining the highest safety standards, is crucial to ensuring that our province’s business climate stays strong. This legislation is the product of collaboration across government and businesses to cut red tape. This legislation builds upon the success of the Burden Reduction Act, 2017 and we look forward to continuing to foster a dynamic and innovative business environment by reducing red tape for businesses in the province.”
“The Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) is pleased to see the Ontario Government prioritize the reduction of regulatory burdens faced by Ontario businesses. Building on the success of the Red Tape Challenge, this legislation demonstrates a commitment to the continued competitiveness and prosperity of our province. We appreciate the ongoing partnership between government and the OCC, as we continue to advocate for a reduction in red tape to spur economic growth and development across Ontario.”
Richard Koroscil
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