Annual Regulatory Modernization Bill

The Annual Regulatory Modernization Bill (ARMB) allows the government to address overly complicated, inconsistent or outdated federal regulatory requirements, as indicated by businesses and Canadians. The recurring bill helps to keep the regulatory system relevant and up to date.

First Annual Regulatory Modernization Bill

The first ARMB was included in the 2019 Budget Implementation Act and made changes to 12 pieces of legislation, including transportation, pest control, electricity and gas inspection. The following are some examples.

• The Canada Transportation Act and the Food and Drugs Act were amended to allow for innovation, permitting limited exemptions from regulatory requirements to test new products that would benefit Canadians, such as tissues developed through 3D printing
• The Electricity and Gas Inspection Act was amended to support the use of new technologies, including zero-emission vehicles, light-emitting diodes (LED) and hydrogen-fuelled vehicles
• The Canada Transportation Act was amended to allow for digital and electronic processes and documents, in addition to in-person or paper-based ones
• Changes to the Pest Controls Act removed a redundant review requirement, when another review was already considering the issue or could be modified to include the issue
• Amendments to the Food and Drugs Act provided more clarity to industry about which regulations to apply to their products

Second Annual Regulatory Modernization Bill

On March 31, 2022, Bill S-6, an Act Respecting Regulatory Modernization (second Annual Regulatory Modernization Bill), was introduced in Parliament.

Bill S-6 includes minor amendments to:

• reduce the administrative burden for businesses
• make digital interactions with government easier
• simplify regulatory processes
• make exemptions from certain regulatory requirements to test new products
• make cross-border trade easier through more consistent and coherent rules across governments

The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat received input on specific areas of legislation that were redundant or unclear, or used out-of-date technologies and practices. This input determined what changes could be included in the second ARMB.

For more information on the bill:

• News release and backgrounder
• Overview of proposed amendments in the second Annual Regulatory Modernization Bill
• Government Bill

Related links

• 2018 Fall Economic Statement
• Targeted Regulatory Reviews - Canada.ca
• What We Heard: Report on Regulatory Modernization - Canada.ca