Red tape costs businesses time and money. We want entrepreneurs to be able to focus on what matters - creating jobs and spurring innovation. That's why the B.C. government is committing to cutting red tape to make it easier for businesses to do business in B.C.

We're the first government in Canada to enshrine in law the requirement to publish annual reports about regulatory reform. We've reduced regulatory requirements by over 42 per cent since 2001. That's more than 154,000 regulatory requirements off the books - and we've committed to holding the line right through to 2015.

Our hard work is being acknowledged. On Jan. 28, as part of Red Tape Awareness Week, CFIB awarded B.C. an 'A' for reducing red tape for the third year in a row. As the only province in the country to receive an 'A' grade, we know we are national leaders. We were also nominated for a national Golden Scissors Award by CFIB for our work on the Mobile Business Licence program, which allows business to operate across multiple municipalities with a single licence, rather than needing one in each community.

But we're not going to sit back and let red tape pile up. This week we announced five new priority projects to further reduce red tape in British Columbia. These projects include everything from making it easier for entrepreneurs to find out how to start a new restaurant, to simplifying the way to apply for government contracts. You can visit our Regulatory Reform page through gov.bc.ca for more information on the five projects.

Over the next year I commit to not giving up the fight against the red tape. We'll work hard to ensure we continue to be national leaders in red tape reduction and build on our efforts to be the most small business friendly jurisdiction in the country.

Yours truly,

Naomi Yamamoto
Minister of State for Tourism and Small Business
250 387-2799