Government of Saskatchewan Proclaims January 25-29 as Red Tape Awareness Week

Released on January 25, 2021

The Government of Saskatchewan has proclaimed the week of January 25-29 as Red Tape Awareness Week to bring attention to the impact unnecessary regulations have on businesses and citizens.

This proclamation highlights government's commitment to meeting its obligation under Saskatchewan’s Growth Plan to improve business competitiveness and promote growth and innovation in the province through red tape reduction.  Saskatchewan has forecasted more than $490 million in cumulative savings through red tape reduction over the next ten years.

“Red Tape Awareness Week is an opportunity to highlight the efforts and achievements made across government to reduce red tape for Saskatchewan businesses and individuals over the past year,” Trade and Export Development Minister Jeremy Harrison said.  “Red tape reduction does not mean deregulation.  Rather, it means smart, efficient, and effective regulation.  It means regulation that protects our environment and public and worker safety, while ensuring that businesses can grow and innovators can succeed in our province.”

Red Tape Awareness Week coincides with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business' (CFIB) national campaign, and the release of CFIB’s annual red tape report card, which grades provincial efforts for regulatory modernization.

In 2020, Saskatchewan continued to increase efforts in regulatory modernization and red tape reduction, and enhance the quantifying of cost savings associated with red tape reduction initiatives through the use of Saskatchewan’s Direct Cost Estimator.  The province remains committed to reviewing all business-related regulations at least once every ten years, and promoting the Help Cut Red Tape webpage at https://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/public-consultations/help-cut-red-tape as an important tool to address specific red tape concerns brought forward by citizens and businesses.

“The Government of Saskatchewan’s strong commitment to cutting red tape over the last several years has earned it a place among the top jurisdictions in Canada for regulatory accountability,” CFIB’s Vice-President, Western Canada and Agri-business Marilyn Braun-Pollon said.  “We commend the province for making red tape reduction an ongoing priority, which will help boost our post-pandemic recovery.”

Saskatchewan is also making it a priority to streamline the process of counting compliance requirements.  The province continues to partner with federal, provincial and territorial governments in regulatory governance as well as the BizPaL initiative at https://www.bizpal.ca/, an online service that benefits businesses by helping them identify which permits and licenses are required and how to obtain them.

In 2013, Saskatchewan became the second jurisdiction in Canada to legislate regulatory accountability through The Regulatory Modernization and Accountability Act at https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/#/products/68641.  The Red Tape Reduction Action Plan was approved in 2014 in order to establish regulatory work plans and improved regulatory impact assessments for all ministries, agencies and Crown corporations.  Since 2014, the Red Tape Reduction Committee has overseen the review of more than 150 business-related regulations.

For more information on 2021 Red Tape Awareness Week, please visit https://www.cfib-fcei.ca/en/red-tape-awareness-week.

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