Red tape review: summary and next steps
On this page
Background
On July 9, 2025, the Honourable Shafqat Ali, President of the Treasury Board, launched a government-wide review aimed at eliminating red tape – outdated and overly complicated regulations that raise costs, reduce productivity and stifle economic growth. In response, ministers with regulatory responsibilities conducted reviews within their portfolios and released public progress reports, within 60 days, to share early achievements and describe next steps.
Across these reports, ministers have identified approximately 500 recent achievements and forward-looking actions to reduce regulatory red tape, summarized below. These actions mark the start of an ongoing commitment. The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat will continue to lead red tape reduction efforts, coordinating across the federal regulatory community to deliver sustainable results that lower the cost of doing business and support economic growth. Building on this initial review of red tape, the way forward will feature consultations with stakeholders across sectors and horizontal red tape reviews across the following priority areas advanced through the reports:
Supporting regulatory efficiency for project reviews
Progress report examples include:
- The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) is re-engineering its processes under the Impact Assessment Act (IAA), consistent with efforts across departments and agencies with a role in major project regulatory approvals to advance the government’s goal of achieving project decisions within two years. IAAC’s work to streamline processes includes actions to simplify templates and use a risk-based approach to focus on key issues. These efforts build on meaningful progress already achieved toward improving efficiency of project reviews, such as 2024 legislative amendments that helped focus decision-making. Since June 2024, twelve projects entered the federal impact assessment process. Eight received early federal assessment decisions in an average of just over three months.
- The Canada Energy Regulator (CER) is updating four regulations relating to activities such as export and import of oil, gas and electricity, the construction and operation of international power lines, and the reporting of toll information. The proposed regulations will simplify application requirements, eliminate certain reporting requirements, remove the need for authorizations for some activities, use modern language, and align with current industry practices. In addition, the CER has significantly improved processing times to date, reducing decision timelines for routine applications for pipeline projects under 40 km to an average of 79 days, down from an average of 191 days four years ago, while maintaining rigorous, transparent assessments that respect Indigenous rights.
Getting products to market faster
Progress report examples include:
- The Minister of Health can now make an Order deeming that certain legislative and regulatory requirements are met based on authorizations by a comparable foreign regulatory authority. Health Canada (HC) wants to increase the use of this pathway, as well as improved data and work-sharing with regulatory partners, to facilitate approvals and access to needed drugs in Canada. These arrangements have shown results, with reviews completed with partners from the UK, Australia, Switzerland, and Singapore, demonstrating reduced median rollout times of roughly 36%. As well, international collaboration activities reduced the time for processing oncology drug applications to Canada by about 5 months.
- The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is promoting greater international alignment and access to agricultural products. This includes leveraging decisions from trusted foreign jurisdictions to streamline pre-market assessments of certain agricultural products, such as an alternate pathway for the pre-market assessment of certain feed products already approved by the United States and European Union. These efforts align with another CFIA action that modernized Canada’s feed regulations to allow for a more robust and outcome-based livestock feed framework that aligns with internationally accepted standards. This new regulatory framework will allow faster and easier updates to standards based on the latest science and technology, and reduces the number of feeds that require registration. For instance, it is estimated that 41% fewer feed products now require registration, saving businesses a total of $150,000 annually.
Reducing barriers to business productivity
Progress report examples include:
- The federal government’s current regulatory framework requires the same payroll data to be reported to Service Canada at multiple times, in different formats, and for distinct programs. To lay the groundwork for future reform, Service Canada is exploring a pilot on Real-Time Payroll Reporting, building on international best practices in the United Kingdom and Australia, to support the administration of Employment Insurance (EI). Real-time employment reporting would enable more accurate and efficient EI applications and payments through automation, improving client experience and reducing burden on employers. This pilot would guide future policy and regulatory reforms, which could generate significant public value by modernizing reporting, improving benefit payment accuracy, and enabling faster, more efficient service delivery.
- HC has amended parts of the cannabis regulatory framework, following a review by an independent expert panel. The regulatory changes included updates to requirements on licensing, personnel and physical security, production, packaging and labelling, and record-keeping and reporting, aiming to simplify regulatory requirements and lower costs for businesses while maintaining key public health and safety controls. The total benefit for companies is estimated to be $296 million over 10 years. HC is continuing to reduce burden in the cannabis program, including reviewing the administrative requirements imposed on regulated parties in forms and guidance documents and identifying opportunities for simplification.
- The CFIA is advancing an omnibus regulatory package to reduce red tape and support the competitiveness and resiliency of the agricultural sector. The CFIA is proposing a series of targeted amendments to address stakeholder issues by removing prescriptive requirements, providing flexibility for businesses, and leveling the playing field for Canadian producers. For example, proposed amendments seek to align testing requirements for eggs sourced from the U.S. with domestic standards, enhancing the competitiveness of Canadian licensed hatcheries.
Supporting international trade and greater efficiency at the border
Progress report examples include:
- The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) is making amendments to regulations related to nuclear material and safety, aligning with updated international controls, introducing new license exemptions and reducing unnecessary customs requirements. This includes changing outdated requirements for paperwork for customs officers that do not align with current industry practices. These combined regulatory amendments are estimated to have a net benefit of $500,000 per year to implicated businesses, as well as an expected $1 million savings to Government from proposed exemptions given the reduction in license applications.
- Transport Canada (TC) is collaborating with international partners, to minimize duplication, and keep Canada aligned with, and at the forefront of, evolving international standards, ultimately making it easier for Canadian companies to work globally. For example, TC is amending the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations to improve alignment with key international codes, such as the United Nations Model Regulations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods. This measure will introduce efficiencies for Canadian and foreign companies doing business in Canada, such as eliminating the need for certain equivalency certificates, introducing new packaging options that align with international standards, and reducing the need to adapt to multiple regulatory frameworks. TC is also aligning the Canadian Aviation Regulations with International Civil Aviation Organization standards, to make it easier and faster for Canadian aviation companies to get approvals, create more consistent rules across jurisdictions, reduce costs, and open new opportunities in global markets.
Enhancing regulatory service delivery
Progress report examples include:
- The CFIA is enhancing digitization and expanding its suite of online services for stakeholders to reduce administrative burden and improve service delivery for regulated parties. This includes creating a digitized “one-stop shop” for 39 plant program systems that previously relied on various paper-based processes and email correspondence. This transfer is scheduled to begin in September 2025, when the first 14 plant systems-based programs will be moved on to My CFIA. These efforts build on the success to date of My CFIA, CFIA’s digital system that offers businesses online access to permits and certificates. In a 2025 survey on My CFIA, 85% of respondents indicated that the system improved their ability to meet international trade requirements and avoid delays.
- TC amended the Vessel Operation Restriction Regulations to empower local authorities to respond more quickly to safety and environmental issues on their waterways. This includes changes to provide local authorities with a faster and more efficient process to manage issues such as excessive speed, shoreline erosion and safety concerns in their communities. The updated regulations address longstanding concerns from municipalities about lengthy processes, making practical changes to reduce red tape and empowering community-driven waterway management. Before the publication of the updated Regulations, the approval of a complex restriction could take up to three to four years. Under the new process, approval would take less than a year.
The way forward
The publication of Red Tape Review Progress Reports marks an important milestone in demonstrating the government’s commitment to reducing red tape. Looking forward, TBS’s Red Tape Reduction Office will engage with regulators and stakeholders to drive cross-cutting red tape efforts that will continue to streamline regulations, reduce costs, and boost efficiency. TBS will:
- undertake horizontal red tape reviews to support the themes and priorities outlined above, such as reducing barriers to business and improving regulatory service delivery
- coordinate stakeholder engagement across sectors, which will inform the horizontal reviews and other cross-cutting red tape reduction efforts
- engage with provinces and territories to support red tape reduction across jurisdictions
- develop federal red tape reduction legislation to ensure lasting and meaningful improvements to the regulatory system
- develop and implement a performance measurement strategy to improve the transparency of the regulatory system and give Canadians and businesses clear visibility into cost savings and productivity gains
These initiatives are expected to deliver sustainable improvements to Canada’s regulatory system, making it more streamlined, cost-effective and predictable.
Page details
- Date modified: