Cut federal red tape
Petitioners ask the Government of Canada to remove low‑value federal regulations, reduce duplicative compliance for small businesses, and set enforceable red‑tape targets. The government responds it created a Red Tape Reduction Office and completed reviews.
Why we would sign this petition
- It would lower compliance costs and save time for small businesses, helping them grow and improve productivity.
- Removing outdated, low‑value regulations could streamline the system and focus rules on public benefits.
- Enforceable reduction targets with transparent reporting would create measurable accountability for cutting unnecessary burden.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- Reviewing and removing regulations risks weakening necessary protections if review criteria are unclear.
- Setting and enforcing reduction targets could impose new administrative costs and complexity on government and regulators.
- Federal action may not resolve duplication with provinces and could miss better‑targeted alternatives for specific sectors.
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 Government of Canada WHEREAS • In 2024, the total cost of regulation to Canadian businesses reached $51.5 billion, ($17.9 billion in red tape alone) and small businesses spent an average of 735 hours per year complying with regulatory requirements that provided little or no public benefit; • Small businesses pay over five times more per employee than large firms to comply with regulation, making unnecessary red tape a major barrier to growth and a drag on Canada's productivity and competitiveness. THEREFORE We, the undersigned citizens and permanent residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to immediately review and eliminate federal regulations that provide little or no public benefit, reduce duplicative and overlapping compliance requirements that disproportionately harm small businesses, and establish enforceable red-tape reduction targets with transparent public reporting.
Government response
Response by the President of the Treasury Board Signed by Tom Osborne The Government of Canada is actively working to reduce red tape to unlock Canada’s full economic potential. This includes eliminating outdated and overly complicated regulations that raise costs, reduce productivity, and stifle economic growth. To support this objective, the Red Tape Reduction Office was established within the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) in 2025 to make the regulatory system more efficient, reduce barriers to investment and economic growth, and reduce regulatory costs for Canadians and businesses. In July 2025, the President of the Treasury Board launched a?60-day?government-wide reviewaimed at?eliminating?red tape.? All Ministers with regulatory responsibilities were directed to review the regulations in their portfolios and propose actions and measures to eliminate red tape –– including removing outdated regulation, reducing duplication with provincial rules, and making it easier to access and deliver services. TBS’ Red Tape Reduction Office oversaw this review which identified over 500 recent achievements and forward-looking initiatives. These initiatives were made accessible to the public through departmental progress reports published in September 2025. Building on the momentum of the Red Tape Review, the President of the Treasury Board hosted a Red Tape Summit on December 3, 2025, bringing together 126 representatives from industry and regulators. During the summit, a series of horizontal reviews were launched, focusing on system-wide opportunities to reduce regulatory barriers for businesses and deliver an effective and efficient regulatory system for Canadians. These reviews were organized around five themes:? 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?? Enhancing regulatory service delivery? The Red Tape Reduction Office held a public consultation to collect input on these themes from December 3, 2025, to February 28, 2026, and received 66 submissions. Input specific to small businesses is reflected in these submissions. In addition to the initiatives of the Red Tape Reduction Office, TBS also provides oversight of the regulatory system and supports decision-making by the Treasury Board on Governor in Council (GiC) regulations. In its oversight role, TBS is responsible for several tools to control regulatory costs and burden, including minimizing burden on small businesses. For example, TBS administers the Cabinet Directive on Regulation (CDR) which sets the Government’s expectations and requirements in the development, management, and review of federal regulations. The CDR requires that all federal regulators apply the small business lens by identifying any direct administrative and compliance impacts on small businesses; indicating how these impacts have been considered or mitigated; and indicating whether additional flexibility has been provided to small businesses or justify why not. As per the CDR, all federal regulatory proposals must also include a cost-benefit analysis (CBA). For regulatory proposals expected to impose $1 million or more in average annual costs, departments are required to quantify and monetize both costs and benefits. The latest data (expressed in 2024 dollars) from the 2024-2025 fiscal year, shows that among published significant-cost-impact GIC regulations, there were: Total benefits: $76,189,717,836 Total costs: $50,391,041,510 Net benefits: $25,798,676,326 Additionally, TBS conducts oversight of the one-for-one rule, enshrined in the Red Tape Reduction Act (RTRA), which requires that regulators offset from their existing regulations an equal amount of administrative burden cost on business for each new or amended regulations introduced that increases the administrative burden on business. Among the GiC and ministerial regulations published during the 2024-2025 fiscal year (expressed in 2024 dollars): $1,790,083 of new burden was introduced, $11,861,269 of existing burden was removed, and there was a net decrease of $10,071,186 of burden. Other related initiatives led or supported by TBS include: A review of regulatory policy tools including the CDR and RTRA to ensure red tape efforts are formally structured around the mandate to eliminate outdated regulations, reduce duplication, and deliver better services. The Canada Mutual Recognition Agreement on the Sale of Goods which was implemented by the Government of Canada on January 1, 2026. This Agreement reduces barriers to the sale of goods across Canada by ensuring that a product that may be lawfully sold in one province or territory may be sold across Canada without having to meet further requirements. Stakeholders, including the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses, recognize this agreement as a major milestone to make it simpler and more cost effective to conduct business in Canada.