News Releases

News Release - Manitoba

May 30, 2018

Province Receives Recommendations of Manitoba Red Tape Reduction Task Force



The provincial government has now received and is implementing recommendations from the Manitoba Red Tape Reduction Task Force report, Finance Minister Cameron Friesen announced today.

“Reducing red tape is about improving access to government services, ensuring effective public policy, rebuilding the provincial economy and getting better results,” said Friesen.  “Thanks to the dedicated work of the task force co-chairs, committee members and Manitobans who shared their views, these priorities will help make life easier for thousands of citizens, small businesses, municipalities and non-profit organizations.”

The Red Tape Reduction Task Force consulted with Manitobans to identify the top five regulatory requirements that create red-tape barriers in sectors including agriculture and food-processing, non-profit organizations, land development and transportation.  Regulatory requirements are the steps required of businesses, non-profits, local governments and private citizens to access government programs or services, conduct business or participate in regulated activities. 

“Manitobans shared hundreds of situations where regulatory requirements not only create burdens for their organizations, but actually make the problems they were supposed to solve worse,” said Shannon Martin, MLA for Morris, and task force co-chair.

The report recommends 20 priorities for reducing red tape and provides additional areas of concern for government review.  Of the top 20 areas, many items have been addressed including:

  • consolidating the heavy truck license classification system and eliminating the Highway Traffic Board as part of Bill 14:  the traffic and transportation modernization act,
  • clarifying the role of municipalities in the aggregate development approval process and increasing the requirement for provincial science-based technical reviews,
  • updating the Manitoba building code to address the unique needs of farm buildings, and
  • harmonizing the appeals processes contained in The Planning Act with The Municipal Act.

“Our committee focused on identifying regulatory requirements that create unnecessary burdens for the citizens, non-profits and businesses living and operating in Manitoba and we believe the report provides helpful recommendations to eliminate red tape,” said Carmele Peter, president of the Exchange Income Corporation and task force co-chair.  “We want to thank all of the committee members and stakeholders for their dedicated work throughout this process and look forward to seeing changes that will make Manitoba more prosperous.”

The minister noted the recommendations build on previous work to reduce red tape in Manitoba including:

  • introducing The Regulatory Accountability Act to create North America’s most comprehensive regulatory accountability framework,
  • becoming the first Canadian province to legislate a one-for-one rule to cap the growth of regulatory requirements and avoid future red tape, and
  • introducing the annual Red Tape Reduction and Government Efficiency Act bill process to allow government departments to modify legislation in a timely manner to remove red tape.

In Manitoba, small- and medium-sized businesses alone spend an estimated $1.2 billion annually to comply with federal, provincial and municipal regulations.  It is estimated that 30 per cent of this, or $360 million, is spent on red tape, the minister noted.

For more information on red tape reduction in Manitoba, visit:
www.gov.mb.ca/reduceredtape/index.html.

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