Guidelines for the assessment of alternatives for mine waste disposal: annex 3

Annex 3: Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement

The Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement (RIAS) is a summary of the expected impact of a regulatory initiative that addresses each of the requirements of the federal government’s regulatory policy as presented in the Cabinet Directive on Regulatory Management.¹ The use of regulatory impact analysis has long been recognized as an international best practice, and the RIAS has been used in Canada for over 20 years.

A properly prepared RIAS provides a cogent, non-technical synthesis of information that allows the various RIAS audiences to understand the issues being regulated. It allows audiences to understand the reason the issue is being regulated, the government’s objectives, and the costs and benefits of the regulation. It also addresses who will be affected, who was consulted in developing the regulation, and how the government will evaluate and measure the performance of the regulation against its stated objectives. The RIAS is, in effect, a public accounting of the need for each regulation.²

The RIAS allows government decision-makers to do the following:

• synthesize information;
• improve their understanding of regulatory impacts; and
• better communicate the impacts of regulation to stakeholders

Outside the government, the RIAS gives the public and affected parties information that can be used to do the following:

• Evaluate proposed regulations;
• Better understand the regulation and obligations it imposes;
• Generate questions and comments about the regulation.

¹ In 2012, the CDRM came into force, updating and replacing the Cabinet Directive on Streamlining Regulation (dated 2007) and the Government of Canada Regulatory Policy (dated 1999). The Directive applies to all stages of the regulatory life cycle (i.e. planning, development, implementation, evaluation and review), including regulatory management.

² Privy Council Office (2001). Guide to Making Federal Acts and Regulations, 2^nd edition. Page 181.