Eliminating the Red Tape

We all know red tape when we see it. It makes things take longer, it makes things more expensive, and frankly, red tape can make it frustrating to work and do business in Ontario.

The Ministry of Red Tape Reduction has been established and is working every day to identify and remove unnecessary and duplicative red tape right across this province.

Reducing red tape is about saving people and businesses time and money. It’s about streamlining rules, regulations, and processes, getting out of the way of entrepreneurs so they can grow their businesses and create good paying jobs right here at home.

As Ontario’s first dedicated minister of red tape reduction, I had the honour of introducing the Less Red Tape, Stronger Ontario Act, 2022 bill in the legislature.

As a former small-business owner, I know how important it is to understand the specific needs and intricacies of each industry in order to bring forward solutions that actually work.

That’s why, as part of our mandate, we are getting out of the Queen’s Park bubble to speak directly to people and businesses who interact with government every day.

I continually hear from job creators right across this province how long it takes them to build or grow their business and get their goods to market. There are examples of taking 12 years for an industrial site to get the required approvals to build.

This unnecessary time lost makes Ontario less competitive when compared to other jurisdictions in North America.

Our plan is to focus in on the challenges faced by specific industries and sectors of the economy, so we can form real, compressive knowledge of their issues and prepare targeted solutions that provide real regulatory relief.

This work is not about changing policy outcomes or reducing the stringent health and safety or environmental protections that Ontarians depend on. Rather, it is about making that process faster and more predictable by removing unnecessary, outdated, and duplicative processes.