Ontario Awarded A- Grade for Making Ontario Work Smarter for Business

Highest Grade on Removing Regulatory Obstacles the Province Has Ever Received, Second Year in a Row

News.ontario.ca
January 22, 2020

For the second straight year, Ontario has received the province's highest grade ever in an annual report card that evaluates governments across Canada on their progress in easing regulatory burdens on job-creating businesses.

Ontario's progress includes making it easier for community programs to provide food to those in need; conducting multiple inspections at once so truck drivers spend less time waiting and more time delivering goods or home with their families; and protecting seniors and families from drug shortages by easing burdens on drug makers.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) gave Ontario an A- in its 2020 Red Tape Report Card. The CFIB praises the Government of Ontario for maintaining red tape reduction as a top priority under the leadership of Premier Doug Ford. It commends the appointment last June of Prabmeet Sarkaria to a newly created position as Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction, with a clear mandate to reduce red tape and update regulations across government.

"I'm proud that the CFIB has recognized our work in providing regulatory relief to Ontario businesses. More importantly, I am pleased for the thousands of job-creating businesses our work is enabling to grow and extend new opportunities and higher wages to hard-working Ontarians," said Sarkaria. "We need regulations to keep people safe and healthy and protect the environment, but that doesn't mean businesses should have to jump through unnecessary hoops to comply with them. That's why we've been working hard to eliminate regulations that are outdated, cumbersome or no longer needed, while making the rules that we do need clear, focused and effective."

The CFIB recognized Ontario's launch last October of a dedicated webpage that allows businesses and Ontarians to submit ideas and propose solutions on how the province can reduce red tape and modernize regulations. It also highlighted the government's work in passing two high-impact burden reduction bills: the Restoring Ontario's Competitiveness Act and the Better for People, Smarter for Business Act. All of these measures have been taken to restore Ontario's competitive advantage, welcome investment and give job creators the boost they need to continue to grow Ontario's economy.

"We congratulate the Ontario government for achieving two consecutive A- grades," said Julie Kwiecinski, Director of Provincial Affairs for Ontario at CFIB. "This outstanding accomplishment is a testament to the government's continued leadership and commitment to making it easier to do business in Ontario. Maintaining such a high grade isn't easy. The report card evaluates red tape reduction efforts using very stringent criteria, including strong political leadership, a comprehensive public measure of regulatory burden and a clear cap on government rules."

Quick Facts

• CFIB is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses. It has 110,000 members, including over 42,000 in Ontario.
• Since 2011, CFIB has published an annual Red Tape Report Card to hold Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial governments accountable for what CFIB’s surveys show is one of its members’ biggest headaches: excessive regulations.
• Ontario’s 2020 A- grade continues the progress from the 2019 A- grade -- a marked improvement from the C+ grade Ontario earned in 2018 under the previous government.
• The Ontario government has taken over 200 actions to reduce regulatory burdens.
• Ontario’s Better for People, Smarter for Business Act and other changes announced previously are projected to save Ontario businesses over $338 million per year in costs once fully implemented -- well on the way to meeting the June 2020 target of $400 million.
• Since June 2018, Ontario has added more than 296,000 jobs by creating a competitive businesses environment with low taxes and greater investment opportunities.