Remove ministerial exemption powers
Petitioners ask the government to remove any provision letting Cabinet ministers exempt companies or individuals from federal laws and to restore Canada’s financial reporting standards and transparency. The government responds it will expand transparent regulatory sandboxes and has adopted a Capital Budgeting Framework while maintaining Public Accounts reporting.
Why we would sign this petition
- It would remove ministerial powers to grant exemptions, reinforcing the rule of law and preventing secret or undisclosed exceptions.
- Restoring established financial reporting and standards would increase transparency and make federal deficits and spending clearer to Parliament and the public.
- Requiring consistent accounting treatment would reduce incentives to reclassify operating costs as capital to mask true deficits.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- Some time-limited, transparent exemptions or sandboxes can allow regulators to test innovations and speed beneficial products to market; removing all exemption mechanisms might block useful policy experimentation.
- The government’s Capital Budgeting Framework aims to highlight long-term investments without changing Public Accounts; the petition could eliminate a tool that helps prioritize growth-enhancing projects.
- Immediately repealing these provisions could disrupt regulatory and fiscal tools, reducing flexibility to respond to new technologies or economic priorities while Parliament considers reforms.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
Petition to the House of Commons We, the undersigned citizens and residents of Canada, draw the attention of the House of Commons to the following: Whereas: • The Carney Liberal government has used the Budget Implementation Act to grant individual Cabinet Ministers sweeping powers to secretly exempt companies or individuals from federal laws, powers that were never disclosed or contemplated in the Budget itself; • The Liberal government has deliberately distorted the definition of capital investment to include operating expenses such as tax breaks, subsidies, and corporate handouts, abandoning international accounting standards in order to falsely claim a balanced operating budget while concealing the true operating deficit. Therefore, we, the undersigned, call on the Government of Canada to: • Immediately remove any provision that allows Cabinet Ministers to exempt companies or individuals from federal laws; and • Restore Canada's long-standing financial standards, transparency, and fiscal integrity.
Government response
Response by the President of the Treasury Board Signed by Tom Osborne An effective regulatory system maintains appropriate controls. It also keeps pace with innovation. To this end, the President of the Treasury Board has been leading efforts to enhance Canada’s regulatory system. For example, work is underway across government to advance approximately 500 ways to reduce red tape. Budget 2025 proposes additional enhancements by expanding the use and increasing the transparency of regulatory sandboxes. Regulatory sandboxes have been in use in certain departments since 2019. They help regulators safely test new products, services, and technologies before recommending permanent rule changes. This means that products and services can be more quickly introduced into the marketplace using the most appropriate regulatory approach. The proposed expansion of sandboxes would extend their use across government for the clean technology or financial technology sectors. However, they could only be used for a specific, time-limited purpose where there is a clearly defined benefit to the country and Canadians. Regulatory sandboxes would also need to follow a rigorous and transparent process. First, as per a requirement in the Policy on Regulatory Sandboxes, advance notice of a proposed sandbox would be publicly reported in a department’s forward regulatory plan. The department would then engage with relevant stakeholders as a sandbox is developed. Once approved, sandboxes would be publicly reported by the responsible Minister, through the Canada Gazette, in a report tabled in each House of Parliament, and by the President of the Treasury Board in an annual report tabled in each House of Parliament. The responsible Minister must, on request, also appear before the appropriate committee of Parliament to explain the decision-making process and reasons for the order. At all times, regulatory authorities would need to maintain safeguards to protect Canadians’ health, safety and the environment. Response by the Minister of Finance and National Revenue Signed by The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne The Government of Canada has carefully reviewed the concerns regarding transparency of the federal deficit, the classification and reporting of federal expenditures, and alignment with Canadian public sector accounting standards. The government has adopted the Capital Budgeting Framework as a new lens through which federal spending is analyzed and communicated. It is intended to strengthen fiscal transparency, provide clearer information to Canadians and Parliament, and ensure that initiatives that deliver long-term economic returns are identified and prioritized. The government’s new capital budgeting approach, first announced on October 6, 2025, sets out the criteria and categorization of federal spending that qualifies as capital investment. These are further elaborated in Annex 2 of Budget 2025, tabled on November 4, 2025. The Capital Budgeting Framework does not change the definition nor treatment of capital expenses in the Public Accounts of Canada. Instead, it provides complementary information by highlighting investments that support long-term economic growth. At its core, the Capital Budgeting Framework establishes a consistent and transparent method to classify government spending (including tax expenditures) that contributes to capital formation, otherwise referred to as capital investment. It clearly distinguishes between spending that supports the ongoing delivery of essential services and other day-to-day government activities, and spending that builds the country’s productive capacity, enabling the government to prioritize the latter and help deliver lasting benefits to Canadians. It is important to emphasize that while Budget 2025 added an outlook for capital investments that is in accordance with the government’s new Capital Budgeting Framework, federal budget projections continue to be consistent with Government of Canada accounting principles, and how the finances are reported in the Public Accounts of Canada. Importantly, the presentation of the budgetary balance in the budget continues to align with the balance reported in the Public Accounts of Canada. As a responsible fiscal manager, the government remains committed to transparency and accountability. It will continue to ensure that future federal updates and budgets preserve comparability with the Public Accounts and strengthen coherence and credibility in fiscal reporting.