Cutting Red Tape for all Canadians Act
Backgrounder
October 7, 2026 – Ottawa, Ontario – Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
A modern, well-functioning regulatory system is one that is responsive, flexible, and supports competitiveness all while maintaining effective protections for the health and safety of Canadians, and the environment.
Bill S-7, the Cutting Red Tape for all Canadians Act, proposes targeted amendments to 31 individual pieces of legislation and their accompanying regulations to remove unnecessary regulatory burden, or red tape.
Such burden can emerge over time as technologies, practices, products and markets evolve. Recurring red tape reduction legislation is part of a broad set of actions underway to reduce red tape and strengthen Canada’s competitiveness while maintaining important and necessary protections.
Proposed amendments
Bill S-7 proposes amendments to the following Acts:
| Department | Legislation | Summary of Proposed Amendments |
| Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) | Agricultural Marketing Programs Act | Reduces red tape for producers by simplifying program requirements and making the administration of farm cash advance programs more efficient. |
| Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) | Agricultural Products Marketing Act | Streamlines rules to make it easier for provincial and territorial marketing boards to sell products across Canada and internationally. This proposal would remove more than 160 outdated farm marketing rules and allow provincial marketing boards to update fees for products sold in Canada and abroad through a simpler, faster process. |
| Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) | Canadian Agricultural Loans Act | Improves access to financing for farmers by increasing loan flexibility and simplifying program processes. |
| Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) | Farm Products Agency Act and Canadian Dairy Commission Act | Removes the mandatory retirement age for appointed members of farm product agencies and the Canadian Dairy Commission, which would mean fewer appointment and reappointment processes and eliminate redundant parliamentary tablings. |
| Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) | Canada Border Services Agency Act | Allows temporary exemptions from existing requirements so the CBSA can partner with industry and other stakeholders to test new technologies and processes for a faster and more secure border. |
| Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) | Canadian Food Inspection Agency Act | Clarifies the CFIA’s ability to use electronic tools and services and remove duplicative reporting requirements. Canadians will benefit from faster, more efficient digital services with less administrative burden. |
| Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) | Health of Animals Act | Enables more flexible approaches to managing international waste, including new treatment technologies and approved third-party programs. Businesses would benefit from more efficient and cost-effective waste-management options, including opportunities for recycling and composting, while maintaining strong animal health and biosecurity protections. |
| Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) | Allows regulations to recognize trusted foreign regulatory systems for feeds, fertilizers, seeds and veterinary biologics. These amendments would speed up pre-market assessments, helping Canadian producers access new agricultural products sooner while maintaining Canada’s strong safeguards. | |
| Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) | Seeds Act | Enables a faster and more flexible process for updating the list of regulated weed seeds. More timely updates would reduce unnecessary costs for farmers and businesses and help protect Canadian agriculture and trade from emerging invasive weed species. |
| Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) | Fisheries Act | Reduces administrative burden for municipalities, infrastructure owners, and project proponents for routine maintenance work by allowing fish to be safely relocated during repairs to fishways and similar structures. Allows fisheries authorizations and related processes to be managed electronically to improve efficiency and service delivery. |
| Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) | Environmental Violations Administrative Monetary Penalties Act | Allows for more proportionate and efficient approach to environmental enforcement by enabling administrative monetary penalties for the pollution prevention provisions under the Fisheries Act, increasing the maximum penalty amount for a violation, and extending certain limitation periods. These changes facilitate productivity and a level playing field by allowing industry to address environmental non-compliance in a manner that is quick, predictable and consistent. |
| Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) | Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act | Eliminates an outdated requirement to maintain a duplicative list of species in regulations. This would clarify rules governing the trade and transport of protected plants and animals for importers and exporters of wildlife and eliminate the need for a lengthy, costly, and redundant regulatory process. |
| Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) | Department of the Environment Act | Supports the expansion of digital services and tools– by clarifying that electronic means can be used to administer and enforce environmental legislation. This would ensure that ECCC and agencies under the Minister of the Environment may conduct permitting, compliance monitoring and enforcement activities electronically, reducing administrative burden for industry, and improving service delivery for regulated parties. |
| Health Canada | Food and Drugs Act | Supports Canadian food exports by reducing regulatory inconsistencies, helping food businesses access international markets more efficiently. |
| Innovation, Science, and Economic Development (ISED) | Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act | Creates simpler bankruptcy and restructuring procedures tailored to small businesses, reducing costs and administrative burden, improving recoveries for creditors, and giving viable firms a better chance to survive and preserve jobs and value. |
| Innovation, Science, and Economic Development (ISED) | Boards of Trade Act | Modernize outdated legislative requirements, including with regard to governmental approvals, so that boards of trade can operate more efficiently, with greater flexibility and a reduced administrative burden. |
| Innovation, Science, and Economic Development (ISED) | Radiocommunication Act | Replaces certification requirements for low-risk wireless devices with a simpler registration process, supporting manufacturers, telecommunications providers, and wireless device users. Enables greater use of digital tools and automated processes to improve regulatory efficiency and service delivery. Improves access to wireless spectrum by supporting modern, technology-driven spectrum management systems. Enables the Minister to issue radio authorizations for radio devices intended to be installed on spacecraft shared with foreign entities. This would strengthen competition by facilitating access to space by smaller companies, while maintaining the Minister’s authority and oversight on the use of spectrum licensed to Canadians. |
| Justice Canada (JUS) / Privy Council Office (PCO) | Statutory Instruments Act | Provides federal regulators, businesses, and Canadians with more efficient, accessible, and digital regulatory processes by removing outdated paper-based requirements and supporting digital publication and certification. |
| Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) | Explosives Act | Introduces administrative monetary penalties to strengthen compliance and enforcement tools by giving regulators a new tool to address non-compliance quickly and proportionately, reducing reliance on costly prosecutions while supporting public safety. |
| Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) | Canada Lands Surveyors Act | Modernizes the legislative framework that regulates the lands surveyors profession. Amendments would improve the clarity and consistency of the Act, reduce administrative burden for the federal government and the Canada Lands Surveyors Association. |
| Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) | Northern Pipeline Act | Removes outdated provisions and aligns oversight with modern regulatory practices to improve regulatory clarity and efficiency for pipeline operators, regulators, Indigenous groups, and other stakeholders. |
| Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) | Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation and Offshore Renewable Energy Management Act; and Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation and Offshore Renewable Energy Management Act | Amends the Accord Acts to align with hazardous workplace product rules with the Hazardous Products Act. Offshore energy operators, workers, and regulators would benefit from clearer requirements, improved compliance, and enhanced workplace health and safety protections. |
| Transport Canada (TC) | Railway Safety Act | Reduces administrative burden by simplifying the process for renewing or amending existing exemptions for railway companies from regulations when it is in the public interest. |
| Transport Canada (TC) | Marine Transportation Security Act | Updates authorities, including regulatory making powers and enforcement tools, to address emerging threats and risks for marine security, such as cybersecurity. Supports greater coordination amongst security partners by enabling information sharing. |
| Transport Canada (TC) | Aeronautics Act | Enables the Minister of Transport to issue a zoning order, providing interim protections to airport operations while the regulatory process is underway. During this interim period, Transport Canada, airport operators, municipalities, developers, and other affected stakeholders would work collaboratively to determine and refine the measures required to protect aviation safety while minimizing impacts on developments surrounding airports. |
| Transport Canada (TC) | Navigable Waters Act | Excludes pumped storage reservoirs from the definition of “navigable water” under the Act, as they pose little risk to navigation. This would reduce regulatory burden and accelerate development of capital-intensive hydro storage projects that support grid reliability and clean energy. |
| Transport Canada (TC) | Canada Transportation Act | Establishes new authorities for stronger information-protection safeguards, enabling trusted data sharing, reducing regulatory burden, and supporting modern regulatory oversight for transportation companies, including airports, ports, rail operators, and other transportation stakeholders, while maintaining safety and security. |