“The Ontario Chamber of Commerce welcomes the Burden Reduction Report released today by the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment. Our organization has been advocating for issues related to modernization and harmonization around burdensome red tape. Today’s report demonstrates progress and a changing culture in government around the importance of these issues to Ontario’s business community.
“The OCC’s goal is to reduce, in a responsible manner, the cumulative regulatory burden that adversely impacts Ontario’s competitiveness.
“With today’s report, there is still more work to be done. The government needs to start by publishing the rationale for any new regulations it introduces. It should also:
- Conduct a (public) cost-benefit analysis when considering new regulations.
- Streamline approval and compliance procedures between levels of government, specifically in the area of environmental assessments.
- Support outcomes-based and voluntary models of regulation.
“Finally, the Government of Ontario should follow the U.K.’s lead and adopt a crowd-sourced approach to regulatory changes. The U.K.’s ‘Red Tape Challenge’ encourages the public to submit comments and suggest changes to the regulations that impact them. Thanks to this program, the U.K. government is currently in the process of amending or scrapping 3,000 regulations, which will save business over £850 million every single year.
“The OCC will continue to advocate that the Government of Ontario lower the cumulative regulatory burden on businesses. We applaud this government’s step in the right direction.”
For media inquiries, please contact:
Karl Baldauf, Vice President, Policy and Government Relations
647-888-2866
karlbaldauf@occ.ca
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