ARCHIVED: Small Business and Red Tape Reduction
The Province has taken significant action to modernize British Columbia’s regulatory regime, streamline processes and enhance access to services, according to the fifth annual report on regulatory reform released today by Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction and Minister Responsible for the Liquor Distribution Branch Coralee Oakes.
The report, Achieving a Modern Regulatory Environment: B.C.’s Regulatory Reform Initiative, highlights government’s progress to reduce red tape for British Columbians over the past year and reinforces the Province’s commitment to efficient regulations and processes that reduce the burden on citizens and businesses and support economic growth.
Highlights from the report include:
- Implementation of more than half of the 73 recommendations from the liquor policy review to improve consumer convenience, such as removing the need for a separate lounge area for manufacturer licensees.
- Making traffic event and webcam data available to the public with the open government license, which enhances borderless traveller information with other jurisdictions and provides entrepreneurs and software engineers access to data that can improve apps and services available to the public.
- Improving online services for British Columbians, such as an enhanced map that helps parents find child care in their communities and the new Aging Well website that helps seniors access essential health programs and services.
- Creating the small business resources hand-out to increase new business owners’ awareness of the supports available to help them succeed. Available through the OneStop Business Registry, more than 13,000 new businesses have received the information.
In addition to maintaining its net-zero increase commitment, the Province eliminated more than 500 unnecessary or outdated requirements last year, a 47% reduction in regulatory requirements since 2001. For example, the Province replaced the need for sworn statements with a simple signed statement in more than 20 instances.
(flickr.com) Quotes:
Coralee Oakes, Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction and Minister Responsible for the Liquor Distribution Branch –
“Reducing red tape is about making it easier to access and simpler to use government services. It’s about changes that ensure children, youth and families now have convenient access to reliable, timely and consistent service options wherever they reside in the province. It’s about a one-stop website that helps connect people to many of the services they may need, whether it’s housing, transportation, health care, education or skills training. This report shows that our B.C. government is working across the board to streamline programs and services to make life better for British Columbians.”
Laura Jones, executive vice-president and chief strategic officer, Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) –
“British Columbia continues to demonstrate leadership on the fight against red tape. This year marks another momentous year with B.C. leading the way with the inaugural Red Tape Reduction Day and the only province to receive an A grade on the regulatory report card from CFIB.”
Iain MacNeil, vice-president of global sales, Appnovation –
“The Province’s focus on cutting red tape has helped Appnovation grow from a small B.C. start-up to a global technology company with over 200 employees. Our company was built on a strong passion for open source, open data and open technology, and it's so great to see government initiatives like open government license align so well with what inspires and drives us. We expect this to continue to help Appnovation drive growth and innovation for our employees, partners and customers.”
(flickr.com) Quick Facts:
- Since 2001, the Province has completed more than 275 streamlining initiatives to reduce red tape for citizens and businesses in B.C.
- In fall 2015, the Province held a six-week online consultation on reducing red tape for British Columbians. More than 5,900 people visited the engagement site and shared more than 400 ideas.
- The Province listened and committed to more than 60 actions to reduce red tape. Since March 2, 2016, the Province has completed more than 40% of those actions.
- In 2015 the Province has extended its commitment to a net-zero increase in regulatory requirements until 2019. A net-zero increase means eliminating one existing requirement when a new requirement is needed.
Learn More:
B.C.’s Regulatory Reform Fifth Annual Report: http://ow.ly/byWR301H9a1
Share your idea to help cut red tape: http://ow.ly/VIEL301IQOh
Red Tape Reduction Engagement Report: http://ow.ly/sloG301IR73
