Red Tape Reduction Action Plan

Red tape reduction at the CBSA: reducing the compliance burden for Canadian businesses

What is red tape?

For the purposes of the Government of Canada's Red Tape Reduction Commission, red tape is defined as the unnecessary and undue compliance burden: the time and resources spent by business to demonstrate compliance with the federal government regulations.

The CBSA's Eight Red Tape Reduction initiatives:

  1. Simplify reporting process for importers and improve the communication of compliance requirement information.
  2. Simplify and harmonize trusted trader programs with the United States, as set out in the Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness Action Plan: Canada and the U.S. announce Trusted Traveller and Trusted Trader enhancements under Beyond the Border Action Plan.
  3. Review eligibility requirements to improve access to Free and Secure Trade (FAST) lanes at the Canada-United States border, as set out in the Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness Action Plan. The CBSA made an announcement in 2012 that supports this initiative: Free and Secure Trade (FAST) pilot to improve service for trusted traders.
  4. Develop an online tool for trusted traders programs to streamline the application process at the Canada-United States border, as set out in the Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness Action Plan: Canada and the U.S. announce Trusted Traveller and Trusted Trader enhancements under Beyond the Border Action Plan.
  5. Improve performance of the CBSA's recourse program (related to enforcement actions) by implementing new service standards.
  6. Develop a single window for importers across multiple federal departments and agencies for the importation of goods at the Canada-United States border, as set out in the Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness Action Plan.
  7. Simplify business processes and automate processes for importation of goods.
  8. Develop an eManifest system for the pre-screening of import data for low-risk shipments prior to goods' arrival at the Canadian border.

The Red Tape Reduction Commission

The Red Tape Reduction Commission (RTRC) was announced by the Government of Canada in January 2011. Its mandate was to identify irritants to small businesses that result from federal government rules and regulations. The RTRC solicited feedback online and through 15 roundtable sessions with Canadians and businesses between January and March 2011. During the feedback process, the RTRC compiled a list of approximately 2,300 irritants, which it included in its "What Was Heard" Report in September 2011. In January 2012, the RTRC released its final report, called Recommendations Report - Cutting Red Tape…Freeing Business to Grow, in which it provided recommendations on how government departments and agencies could address the irritants identified by small businesses on a long-term basis.

The Government of Canada's Red Tape Reduction Action Plan

The Government of Canada's Red Tape Reduction Action Plan is the Government's response to the recommendations in the Red Tape Reduction Commission's final recommendations report. This Action Plan demonstrates that the Government of Canada has listened and is taking action to address all of the recommendations.

The Action Plan includes six systemic reforms, under three major themes:

The Government of Canada's Red Tape Reduction Action Plan introduces measures to control administrative burden on businesses and ensure that regulators are sensitive to the needs of small business when they design regulations.

Forward Regulatory Plans

Based on the RTRC's final recommendations report, the Government has introduced forward regulatory plans to improve transparency and predictability for business and all Canadians. Forward Regulatory Plans are a publicly available list of potential regulatory actions that a government department or agency anticipates making within two years of the release of the final recommendations report. These regulatory plans could include the development of new regulations or changes to existing regulations.

Forward plans will be revised and updated over time to reflect changing circumstances.

Forward Regulatory Plans include the following:

For more information, visit the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's Web site on the Red Tape Reduction Action Plan.

Related links

To learn about upcoming or ongoing consultations on proposed federal regulations, visit the Canada Gazette and Consulting with Canadians websites.

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