Provincial Government Continues to Ease Regulatory Burden

Newfoundland and Labrador has once again emerged as a national leader in red tape reduction according to an annual report released today by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB). The report gives Newfoundland and Labrador a grade of B, second only to British Columbia.

“The Red Tape Reduction initiative in this province began in 2006, and has had resounding success to date,” said the Honourable Paul Davis, Minister of Service NL. “The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has an ongoing commitment to improving regulatory processes across all of our programs and services.”

The original goal of the provincial Red Tape Reduction initiative was a 25 per cent reduction in red tape. This goal was surpassed within a three-year time frame, and the Provincial Government continues to achieve its objective of no net growth in the number of regulatory requirements. As of November 2011, this objective has been surpassed with a net reduction in regulatory requirements of two per cent since April 2009.

Several programs have contributed to red tape reduction in the last year including the expansion of the BizPal program by Service NL and the roll-out of SmartForce by the Department of Advanced Education and Skills.

BizPaL is an innovative service that provides entrepreneurs with simplified access to information such as permits and licences required to establish and run their particular businesses. The service saves business owners time and money and improves business planning. This unique partnership among federal, provincial, territorial, regional and local governments is designed to cut through the paperwork burden and red tape that small business owners may encounter.

SmartForce NL is an initiative that fosters innovation in skills development for all workers in the province. Newfoundland and Labrador is the first province to use SmartForce to develop and deliver human resources training to small and medium-sized enterprises and help them overcome the challenges of competing for employees globally. SmartForce offers a full suite of courses, launched on CoursePark Social Learning Network, which will provide training on practical and social media usage.

“We are pleased with the results of the CFIB report, and will continue our work in the area of regulatory reform,” said Minister Davis. “This work is beneficial to each and every citizen of the province, and will contribute to the improved delivery of programs and services.”

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Media contact:
Hugh Donnan
Director of Communications
Service NL
709-729-4860, 725-6511
hughdonnan@gov.nl.ca 

2012 01 17                            3:15 p.m.