A key democratic tool for Canadians

The Canada Gazette is the Government of Canada’s official newspaper. Under the responsibility of Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), it’s a key instrument in our country’s democratic process that informs Canadians on government operations and allows them to actively participate in the regulatory process.

Since fall 2022, a new commenting feature has brought even more say to Canadians, as they can now review and comment on proposed regulations online directly on the Canada Gazette website. In the past, Canadians sent their comments by mail and, later, by email.

The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and PSPC partnered to create this online commenting feature, which is part of Canada’s commitment to meeting the requirements outlined in the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement to increase transparency, openness and evidence-based decision-making in its regulatory process.

The regulatory system needed to be more transparent, and publishing all received comments further enhances the ability of Canadians to see what’s being said in response to proposed regulations.

“Some proposed regulations can generate thousands of comments, which were previously submitted by mail or other non-digital formats. This required a manual process to sort comments, and a lot of administrative work,” explains Carol Anne Biagé, Manager of Major Projects and Communications at PSPC. “The commenting feature has allowed federal regulators to efficiently publish comments on proposed regulations, increasing transparency and accountability.”

Consistency leads to success

The coordination between 50 departments and around 2,500 Canadian federal regulators was, at the beginning of the project, quite a challenge. Having that many departments involved implied having to integrate many different information management systems.

The team was in constant communication with regulators to ensure a smooth implementation. “One of the challenges was to understand how each department worked, namely how they recorded comments. One department was using Excel spreadsheets to track comments, and another one was essentially just using email folders. This meant that finding a common solution to ensure consistency and to facilitate the recording of comments was critical,” specifies Jessica Gloria Nina, PSPC Project Lead.

Therefore, the team started to offer training to regulators and departmental administrators. They did weekly training sessions in English and French, which included videos of the training session online in case somebody couldn’t attend. “There’s a lot to learn, and the regulators have to know what needs to be posted and shared, so training and support are essential for the success of the project,” adds Jessica.

Canadians take advantage of their right

From the testing period of spring 2021 to fall 2024, the consultation system has processed over 18,000 comments on proposed regulations and was used for 172 consultations.

In June 2024, there were 20 proposed regulations published, when normally there’s an average of 5 regulations per month. This translates into more opportunities for Canadians to engage with the government on regulations that matter to them and have a direct impact on their daily life.

“We are continually looking for opportunities to improve the user experience. For example, since the launch, we’ve made some major system updates, one of which is a new attachment function,” says Jessica.

At the end of 2023, PSPC launched a new attachment function that has helped increase the number of published proposed regulations further by allowing users to provide supporting documentation in addition to their comments.

“The online commenting feature and the attachment function are extremely useful in identifying Canadians impacted by regulations and meaningfully consulting and engaging with them throughout the development, management and review of regulations,” Christopher Tanguay, Communications Advisor, Major Projects and Communications.

The online commenting feature and the new attachment function contribute to a better understanding of the concerns and interests of Canadians and stakeholders with respect to regulations being proposed. It’s also part of the Canada Gazette’s ongoing efforts to evolve into a modern digital publication, so it can continue to provide Canadians with access to information on new acts and regulations, public notices and official appointments.

The top 5 consultations that received the most comments on proposed regulations were those regarding:

• the Canada Disability Benefit Regulations
• regulations amending certain regulations made under the Food and Drugs Act (agile licensing)
• regulations amending the regulations on the health of animals
• an order issuing directions to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (sustainable and equitable broadcasting regulatory framework)
• the Clean Electricity Regulations

To find out more about the Canada Gazette online commenting tool, and to learn how to comment on proposed Canadian regulations, take a look at the video, Have your say with the online commenting feature.

Check out Our stories to read more about PSPC’s people and projects making a difference in the lives of Canadians.