Ottawa, Ontario - 29 August 2014
Our Government is committed to reducing the regulatory burden on Canadian businesses and to ensuring an effective flow of legitimate commerce between Canada and the United States with a view to generating jobs and economic growth.
To this end, on August 29, 2014, the Harper Government and the Obama Administration released the Canada-United States Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC) Joint Forward Plan. The Plan sets the stage for fundamental changes in the way regulatory departments and agencies in both countries work together, making it easier for businesses to operate in both countries.
The Joint Forward Plan builds on the RCC Joint Action Plan launched in December 2011 by Prime Minister Harper and President Obama. The initial RCC Joint Action Plan focused on several initiatives that reduced unnecessary regulatory differences, fostered new approaches and served as a template for future efforts between Canada and the United States.
The new Joint Forward Plan will deepen Canada-U.S. regulatory cooperation through new bi-national processes and partnerships. This approach will institutionalize joint planning and collaboration between Canadian and U.S. regulatory agencies.
This includes broad new commitments in 24 areas of regulatory business, moving from a focus on individual initiatives toward an approach where regulators not only address current issues but also make the broad changes necessary to prevent misalignments from happening in the future.
The Joint Forward Plan will result in reducing the burden on business thereby boosting North American trade and competitiveness.
In keeping with stakeholder input, lessons learned in the implementation of the initial Joint Action Plan, and discussions between the RCC and agencies on both sides of the border, the Joint Forward Plan will focus on:
- Establishing department-level bi-national processes to strengthen regulatory partnership;
- Establishing department-to-department commitments and work plans; and,
- Addressing cross-cutting issues.
Partnerships will be established between regulatory departments and agencies with similar mandates. Each will be adapted to the practical realities between these organizations and include the following common key elements:
- Bi-national governance that includes a commitment to work together moving forward;
- Processes for stakeholders to engage with regulators to provide input to inform strategies, identify bi-national priorities, and be involved in the implementation of specific initiatives as appropriate; and,
- Annual planning that will consider the short, medium and long-term opportunities.
Departments and agencies will release regulatory partnership statements that are intended to outline what each of these bilateral regulatory partnership arrangements will include and how they will function.
The Joint Forward Plan identifies key areas of work that will be addressed by the first of a series of annual technical work plans. Work will continue in areas such as marine safety and security, pharmaceuticals, food safety, plant and animal health, and crop protection products. In addition, new areas of work including, for example, energy efficiency, toy safety , medical devices, chemicals management and the use of natural gas in transportation will be launched under the Joint Forward Plan.
Work plans will be developed and annual joint planning processes, including the opportunity for stakeholders to input, will begin. The planning process will also open the door for discussions on other areas of regulatory cooperation that could be initiated.
Areas of work have been identified using input received from stakeholders, as well as the expertise and experience of regulatory departments gained through work on the 29 initiatives in the initial Joint Action Plan. Some examples of commitments include:
- Natural Resources Canada will work with the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Transportation (Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration) on the development of work plans related to energy efficiency standards, standards for the use of natural gas in transportation, and explosives classification.
- Work in the areas of marine safety and security, locomotive emissions, connected vehicles, transportation of dangerous goods, motor vehicle safety standards and rail safety will be undertaken by Transport Canada working with its counterparts in the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
- Work plans across six sectors will be developed by Health Canada with its U.S. counterparts in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The regulatory issues covered include pharmaceutical and biological products, over-the-counter products, medical devices, veterinary drugs, workplace chemicals and crop protection products.
- The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) work will focus on meat inspection/certification, plant health, animal health and food safety. The CFIA will partner with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the development and implementation of work plans in these areas.
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada will develop a work plan with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the U.S. Department of Commerce.
In the course of implementing the initial RCC Joint Action Plan, it has become clear that certain laws and/or policies in both governments can present challenges to international regulatory cooperation, regardless of sector. These cross-cutting issues include areas such as sharing information and funding.
These issues will be explored in greater depth over the next year to get a better understanding of the changes that will need to be made to support enhanced regulatory cooperation going forward.
Regulatory departments and agencies will be providing details on their respective partnerships by releasing regulatory partnership statements. The statements and technical work plans will be released within the next six months. In addition, new bi-national processes for annual planning and stakeholder engagement will be initiated over the next 18 months.
