A Christian Farmers Federation spokesman says the burden of over-regulation is wearing thin for many Ontario farmers.
Nathan Stevens says the Premier promised to reduce red tape by 25 per cent in 2011.
That included the requirement that for every new regulation imposed on business, two must be eliminated.
But Stevens says there are still some gaps in the process.
STEVENS-Tape-1
Stevens says it’s important to remember regulations have a role in assuring public safety and a number of other objectives.
But he says there needs to be a balance that allows businesses to be competitive in a global environment.
A recent Canadian Federation of Independent Business report card rated Ontario a B minus this year for red tape.
Nathan Stevens with the Christian Farmers Federation says that may come as a surprise to some of the province’s farmers.
Stevens says that CFIB report offered some ideas on how to improve dealing with regulations.
One of those suggestions was to have a cabinet minister focussed on regulatory oversight.
STEVENS-Tape-2
Stevens says that CFIB report card is successfully raising awareness of the burden of over-regulation throughout Canada.
The CFFO Commentary
Title: Red Tape Report Card shows Ontario is heading in the
Right Direction
By Nathan Stevens
January 27, 2012
JAN 27 – CFFO Commentary
The burden of over-regulation is wearing thin for many farmers
in Ontario. Red tape is being sighted as a key constraint for small and medium
businesses across Canada. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)
has made this issue one of their key issues, and published its annual report
card on red tape in Canada earlier this month.
Perhaps surprisingly to some farmers, Ontario rated a B- this
year, which is a substantial improvement over the C- from the 2011 report card.
The CFIB report card measures a variety of factors in determining how well a
province is doing. For example, does the government actively measure regulatory
burden? Has it implemented an on-going measurement? Has it imposed constraints
on regulators? Have they made regular accountability a political
priority?
On the upside, the Premier promised to reduce red tape by 25 per
cent in 2011 and considerable efforts were made to remove a large number of
outdated regulations. Constraints were placed on regulators which require that
for every new regulation imposed on business, two must be eliminated.
Furthermore, proposed regulations must be posted for public comment, while new
ones can only be implemented twice a year.
However, on the downside, there is no legislated requirement to
report on regulatory burden annually, nor are their on-going measurements that
are being used to measure the burden over time. This means that the relatively
good score of B- this year may just be an anomaly, rather than the first step
towards scoring an A.
The CFIB report also offers some insight on how to improve
dealing with regulatory burden. One of the more interesting ideas is to have a
cabinet minister focused on regulatory oversight. CFIB points out that we all
take for granted the importance of a Ministry of Finance when it comes to
handling the spending of government dollars. The CFIB draws a parallel arguing
that a cabinet member focused on regulatory oversight could control the
proliferation of regulations.
The CFIB report card is successfully raising awareness of the
burden of over-regulation throughout Canada. It is important to remember that
regulations have a role in assuring public safety, establishing industry
standards and meeting a variety of other worthwhile objectives. However, there
is also the need for businesses to be competitive in a global environment.
Finding the right balance is the difficult task of all regulators.
Nathan Stevens is the Research and Policy Advisor for the
Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario. The CFFO Commentary represents the
opinions of the writer and does not necessarily represent CFFO policy. The CFFO
Commentary is heard weekly on CFCO Chatham, CKNX Wingham, and UCB Canada radio
stations in Chatham, Belleville, Bancroft, Brockville and Kingston. It is also
archived on the CFFO website: www.christianfarmers.org. CFFO is supported by
4,200 family farmers across Ontario.
Tags: Ag-Biz, Beef, Crops, Dairy, Fruit, Goats, government, grain, Livestock, Organizations, Pork, Poultry, Sheep, Vegetables
This entry was posted on January 27, 2012 at 8:47 am and is filed under C-F-F-O, Commentaries/Blogs, Midwestern Ontario, News, Ontario, Southwestern Ontario. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
CHOK Sarnia
CKNX AM 920 Wingham
Country 92.9 Chatham
Max FM – Leamington
CFFO Says Farmers’ Red Tape Burden Wearing Thin
Nathan Stevens says the Premier promised to reduce red tape by 25 per cent in 2011.
That included the requirement that for every new regulation imposed on business, two must be eliminated.
But Stevens says there are still some gaps in the process.
STEVENS-Tape-1
Stevens says it’s important to remember regulations have a role in assuring public safety and a number of other objectives.
But he says there needs to be a balance that allows businesses to be competitive in a global environment.
A recent Canadian Federation of Independent Business report card rated Ontario a B minus this year for red tape.
Nathan Stevens with the Christian Farmers Federation says that may come as a surprise to some of the province’s farmers.
Stevens says that CFIB report offered some ideas on how to improve dealing with regulations.
One of those suggestions was to have a cabinet minister focussed on regulatory oversight.
STEVENS-Tape-2
Stevens says that CFIB report card is successfully raising awareness of the burden of over-regulation throughout Canada.
The CFFO Commentary
Title: Red Tape Report Card shows Ontario is heading in the
Right Direction
By Nathan Stevens
January 27, 2012
JAN 27 – CFFO Commentary
The burden of over-regulation is wearing thin for many farmers
in Ontario. Red tape is being sighted as a key constraint for small and medium
businesses across Canada. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)
has made this issue one of their key issues, and published its annual report
card on red tape in Canada earlier this month.
Perhaps surprisingly to some farmers, Ontario rated a B- this
year, which is a substantial improvement over the C- from the 2011 report card.
The CFIB report card measures a variety of factors in determining how well a
province is doing. For example, does the government actively measure regulatory
burden? Has it implemented an on-going measurement? Has it imposed constraints
on regulators? Have they made regular accountability a political
priority?
On the upside, the Premier promised to reduce red tape by 25 per
cent in 2011 and considerable efforts were made to remove a large number of
outdated regulations. Constraints were placed on regulators which require that
for every new regulation imposed on business, two must be eliminated.
Furthermore, proposed regulations must be posted for public comment, while new
ones can only be implemented twice a year.
However, on the downside, there is no legislated requirement to
report on regulatory burden annually, nor are their on-going measurements that
are being used to measure the burden over time. This means that the relatively
good score of B- this year may just be an anomaly, rather than the first step
towards scoring an A.
The CFIB report also offers some insight on how to improve
dealing with regulatory burden. One of the more interesting ideas is to have a
cabinet minister focused on regulatory oversight. CFIB points out that we all
take for granted the importance of a Ministry of Finance when it comes to
handling the spending of government dollars. The CFIB draws a parallel arguing
that a cabinet member focused on regulatory oversight could control the
proliferation of regulations.
The CFIB report card is successfully raising awareness of the
burden of over-regulation throughout Canada. It is important to remember that
regulations have a role in assuring public safety, establishing industry
standards and meeting a variety of other worthwhile objectives. However, there
is also the need for businesses to be competitive in a global environment.
Finding the right balance is the difficult task of all regulators.
Nathan Stevens is the Research and Policy Advisor for the
Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario. The CFFO Commentary represents the
opinions of the writer and does not necessarily represent CFFO policy. The CFFO
Commentary is heard weekly on CFCO Chatham, CKNX Wingham, and UCB Canada radio
stations in Chatham, Belleville, Bancroft, Brockville and Kingston. It is also
archived on the CFFO website: www.christianfarmers.org. CFFO is supported by
4,200 family farmers across Ontario.
Tags: Ag-Biz, Beef, Crops, Dairy, Fruit, Goats, government, grain, Livestock, Organizations, Pork, Poultry, Sheep, Vegetables
This entry was posted on January 27, 2012 at 8:47 am and is filed under C-F-F-O, Commentaries/Blogs, Midwestern Ontario, News, Ontario, Southwestern Ontario. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.