CFIB Celebrates Red Tape Awareness Week

This year marked the 10th Anniversary of the Canadian Federation of Business’ Red Tape Awareness Week. The goal of the week, which was celebrated from January 21 – 27, is to highlight what is frequently listed as the number one concern for CFIB’s members: too many unnecessary regulations.

Laura Jones, CFIB’s executive vice-president, says the week is necessary because the issue too often goes ignored by governments. “Like a bad weed, red tape will multiply the moment you turn your back on it. Out-of-control red tape leads to a host of bad outcomes, from higher prices and reduced entrepreneurship to some less expected ones like increased poverty and income inequality. It’s an issue affecting every Canadian.”

ENM was proud to join the CFIB last summer. Daniel Greenhalgh, ENM co-founder, believes strongly in the organization’s mission to be a voice for the over 110,000 member businesses in Canada. “The CFIB is very active in soliciting the views and suggestions of their members, and they’re effective in presenting these to policy makers as the unified voice of Canadian small businesses. The Red Tape Awareness Week is just an entertaining way to help amplify our concerns.”

One of the highlights every year is the Paperweight Award, given to the most over-the-top red tape offenders in Canada. The award is voted on by CFIB members. This year’s ignominious winner is… drumroll please…. “the federal government’s web of confusion!"

Beating out eight other nominees - including B.C.’s new legislation requiring construction firms to join a union when working on provincial infrastructure projects - the “dozens of user-unfriendly websites from the Government of Canada make it difficult for small business owners to find the information they need on programs, services and rules… one third of business users say the sites are pointlessly complex.” So congratulations to the maze of government websites – may those who work in good faith to decode your secrets stay strong and maybe have a free weekend or two in the coming year.

The week also gives us the chance to recognize politicians, public servants or other citizens who have shown leadership in cutting red tape via the presentation of the Golden Scissors Award.

This year, the municipal winner is Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil and Halifax Mayor Mike Savage for teaming up to create the Joint Project for Regulatory Modernization. Service BC and the BC Ministry of Jobs, Trade and Technology received an honourable mention for creating a new, easy-to-use guide for people dealing with the loss of a loved one.

Maybe the most meaningful result of the Red Tape Weeks has been securing commitments from three provinces, including B.C., to adopt “1-for-1” rules, meaning that every new regulation is offset by scrapping an old one. CFIB has also pushed provinces to make domestic trade easier by making national building codes available for free.

So let’s hope the glare of the spotlight will push some of the more egregious offenders to smooth out the kinks in the application of their well-meaning rules. Thanks, CFIB, for a week well spent.