Government is proclaiming 2011 the Year of the Entrepreneur, extending its commitment to reducing red-tape, and showing leadership as the first government in Canada to enshrine in law a commitment to publish annual provincial reports on regulatory accountability in B.C., Finance Minister Kevin Falcon announced today.

The Province is reducing the cumbersome steps and time involved in accessing government services and complying with regulatory requirements by:

• Extending government's commitment to no net-increases in regulations to 2015.
• Introducing legislation to ensure progress on regulatory accountability is reported annually.
• Reducing the regulatory burden on citizens and small businesses, as well as streamlining and simplifying government processes.

The annual report would include defined measures that are tracked over time and a discussion of future priorities.

Quick Facts:

• Since 2001, B.C. has reduced regulatory requirements by more than 42 per cent.
• Number of regulatory requirements in 2001: 360,295
• Number of regulatory requirements today: 206,228.
• This exceeds our original target of reducing regulatory requirements by 33 per cent.
• The province has committed to a zero net increase in regulations - a commitment now being extended to 2015.

Media Contact:

Matt Gordon
Communications Director
Ministry of Finance
250 896-4923