2024 CFIB Red Tape Report Card: Alberta receives top grade in the country for the second year in a row
On January 31, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) released its 14th annual Red Tape Report Card as part of its Red Tape Awareness WeekTM. Top grades this year go to Alberta and Nova Scotia, the only two provinces in 2024 to receive an “A.” Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island received the lowest grades while New Brunswick earned the title of most improved jurisdiction, increasing their grade from a D to a C.
The 2024 Red Tape Report Card grades governments in three main areas of regulatory performance. First, the regulatory accountability section considers whether governments are measuring regulation and setting regulatory constraints. Second, the “burden” section includes indicators such as the number of regulatory restrictions in each jurisdiction. Lastly, the political priority category looks at clear indications that red tape reduction and regulatory modernization are priorities of the Premier and Executive Council/Cabinet. Alberta received the highest grade in all three categories.
“After years of failing grades the Alberta government has slowly climbed up the rankings and found itself in the top spot last year, while maintaining its ranking this year,” said Annie Dormuth, provincial affairs director. “The government has demonstrated that with strong political leadership, progress can be made to reduce red tape for small businesses and all Albertans. While the government has made significant progress, we further challenge them to make red tape reduction part of the solution in other areas like healthcare and housing affordability.”
Last year CFIB challenged governments to measure and reduce the physician administrative burden, allowing them to prioritize patients over paperwork. In this year’s report card, CFIB awarded governments that took up the challenge with bonus points. Most jurisdictions implemented initiatives to do this, except Saskatchewan and the federal government.
“Red tape reduction is a way for governments to address public policy challenges like healthcare and housing, while making lives easier and more affordable for Canadians and small business owners,” said Keyli Loeppky, CFIB director of interprovincial affairs. “For over 15 years, CFIB has been holding governments accountable by encouraging them to measure and reduce their regulatory burden. While most governments have the right framework in place, red tape reduction needs to remain a top priority going forward to ensure the impacts are felt on the ground for citizens and business owners, and not just included in an annual report.”
This year’s Red Tape Awareness Week is presented in partnership with Intuit QuickBooks.
To learn more visit: cfib.ca/redtape.