Question Period Note: Red Tape Review

What is the Government of Canada doing to address concerns about red tape?

• The Government of Canada is committed to cutting red tape.
• Our Red Tape Review of regulations has identified nearly 500 initiatives aimed at streamlining services, eliminating duplication and reducing costs for Canadians.
• For example, these initiatives will:
o introduce new medications for Canadians more quickly;
o speed up decision-making and processes in economic sectors, such as transportation and agriculture; and,
o support more efficient reviews of projects to drive economic growth.
• We are also proceeding with horizontal reviews to identify additional system-wide opportunities to reduce regulatory barriers for businesses and deliver an effective regulatory system for Canadians.
• TBS’s Red Tape Reduction Office will continue to engage with regulators and stakeholders to deliver initiatives that eliminate unnecessary rules and reduce costs.

Red Tape Review:
· To advance objectives in the May 2025 Prime Ministerial mandate letter and respond to platform commitments, you, as President of the Treasury Board, publicly launched a regulatory red tape review across the Government of Canada on July 9, 2025.
· Red tape is increasingly seen as a barrier to investment and growth and can include outdated or unnecessary rules; duplication or overlap with provincial rules; inefficient or unpredictable regulatory administration or service delivery.
· Through the Red Tape Review, you asked Ministers with regulatory responsibilities to launch reviews of the regulatory stock across their portfolio, and issue progress reports outlining steps taken to date to reduce regulatory red tape, as well as short-, medium- and long-term plans and priorities to deliver additional progress.
· On September 8, 2025, departments and agencies published more than 30 progress reports outlining nearly 500 recent and forward-looking initiatives to streamline services, eliminate duplication, and reduce costs for Canadians.
· Since then, departments and agencies have made progress implementing commitments from their reports. TBS will publish a progress update in Spring 2026 to keep stakeholders apprised of implementation status.

Red Tape Reduction Office:
· The Government of Canada committed to establish the RTRO in the 2024 Fall Economic Statement, to be funded from existing resources of the Treasury Board Secretariat.
· The RTRO was established to address regulatory red tape by:
o making the regulatory system more efficient
o reducing barriers to innovation, productivity and economic growth
o reducing regulatory costs for Canadians and businesses
· The Red Tape Review is a key deliverable of the RTRO, which is providing leadership, coordination and guidance across government.
· Building on the Progress Reports, TBS’s RTRO is engaging with regulators and stakeholders to drive cross-cutting red tape efforts that will continue to streamline regulations, reduce costs, and boost efficiency. TBS is:
o undertaking horizontal red tape reviews to support key themes and priorities (supporting regulatory efficiency for project reviews; getting products to market faster; reducing barriers to business productivity; supporting international trade and greater efficiency at the border; and enhancing regulatory service delivery)
o coordinating public consultation and stakeholder engagement (online and in person) across sectors, the results of which are being used to inform the horizontal reviews and other cross-cutting red tape reduction efforts
o engaging with provinces and territories to support red tape reduction across jurisdictions
o developing federal red tape reduction legislation to ensure lasting and meaningful improvements to the regulatory system
o developing a performance measurement strategy to improve the transparency of the regulatory system and give Canadians and businesses clear visibility into cost savings and productivity gains
These initiatives are expected to deliver sustainable improvements to Canada’s regulatory system, making it more streamlined, cost-effective and predictable.

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