Ottawa proposes sweeping review of Canada's regulatory regime to consider 'efficiency and economic growth'

The federal government [has] said it could soon require regulators to consider “efficiency and economic growth” in their mandates, potentially marking a fundamental shift in how business regulations are crafted in Canada.

The possible change comes in response to business community concerns that Canada’s complicated and slow-moving regulatory regime has caused private sector investment to wane in recent years.

As part of the government’s fall economic statement Wednesday [November 21, 2018], finance minister Bill Morneau promised to review the existing legislation that governs how federal departments and agencies craft regulations for everything the government does, from food safety inspections to approving applications to build pipelines. He will consider a potential update to that legislation that would effectively require those departments and agencies to include “competitiveness considerations” when they’re drawing up rules. The current legislation, by comparison, is almost exclusively focused on health, safety and environmental considerations.

Morneau said the review would take place this fall...

In addition, Ottawa will spend $10 million over three years to assist various government departments as they begin to account for such business and economic considerations, aimed at ensuring they can “keep pace with the new requirements.”..

The measures are perhaps the most comprehensive attempt yet to update Canada’s regulatory environment. Companies in sectors spanning the country — from the oilsands to financial services to auto manufacturing — have for years bemoaned Canada’s regulatory regime, claiming it is overly complicated and sclerotic, putting firms at a disadvantage to foreign rivals...

This is excerpted from 21 November 2018 edition of the National Post.