Minister of State for Small Business Naomi Yamamoto was joined today by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) and local business owner Simon Brampton of Simon's Cycles to proclaim Jan. 21-25 "Red Tape Awareness Week" in B.C.

Every year, CFIB designates a week in January as "Red Tape Awareness Week" to raise public awareness about the negative impacts of excessive regulations on small businesses and citizens and to recognize government efforts to reduce red tape.

The B.C. government is committed to eliminating unnecessary red tape and reducing the time and cost for citizens and businesses to access government services or comply with regulatory requirements. B.C. is the first province to enshrine in law the requirement to publish annual reports about regulatory reform, and since 2001, has reduced regulatory requirements by over 42 per cent. The B.C. government continues to find new ways to reduce red tape and regulatory requirements.

A new Regulatory Reform BC website was launched in October 2012, replacing the former Straightforward BC website. The new website meets government's commitment to transparency, providing detailed information on the count methodology and information on government's streamlining efforts. It also features a "Have Your Say" function, which asks people to identify areas where government can remove barriers and regulatory nuisances and provide feedback on how to improve services by making them simpler and more efficient.

The B.C. government also - for the first time ever - has released the regulatory reform count database online, a fulfilment of a BC Jobs Plan commitment to expand information on its Open Data website. This database enables identification of the regulatory count by statute or by responsible ministry.

In June 2012, the B.C. government published its first annual report on B.C.'s Regulatory Reform Initiative. The annual report is a cross-government report that presents an overview of reform initiatives to date and highlights plans for the coming years. The second annual report is expected to be released in spring 2013.

Quotes:

Minister of State for Small Business Naomi Yamamoto -

"I'm very happy to proclaim January 21-25 'Red Tape Awareness Week' in B.C. A streamlined regulatory environment is crucial to attracting new investments to the province. It encourages growth and innovation in the business community, which creates new jobs that benefit all British Columbians."

CFIB executive vice-president Laura Jones-

"Red tape is one of the biggest killers of jobs and opportunity in Canada and is a huge obstacle to our small business sector, which makes up most of the businesses in Canada. Red tape reduction is also one of the areas where government action can generate enormous benefits for both the economy and job creation."

Quick Facts:

• Red tape is defined as burdensome, often unnecessary, government administrative processes and regulatory requirements.

• Regulatory requirements are defined as government imposed obligations, licences and laws with which citizens and businesses must comply.

• In the past ten years, the B.C. government has cut more than 150,000 regulatory requirements.

• The B.C. government has implemented a policy of no net increases in the regulatory count to 2015. The government has surpassed this goal, achieving a further 10 per cent reduction from the 2004 baseline count. In 2012, CFIB declared former B.C. finance minister Kevin Falcon the winner of its inaugural "Golden Scissors Award" for cutting red tape for small business by more than 42 per cent and entrenching systemic and unprecedented reforms through the Regulatory Reporting Act.

• CFIB also gave British Columbia an "A" rating for its regulatory reform initiatives, the highest rating of any Canadian jurisdiction.

Learn More:

Visit the new Regulatory Reform BC website at: www.gov.bc.ca/regulatoryreform

Contact:

Media Relations
Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Responsible for Labour
250 356-8177