Red Tape Reduction Act

In 2015, the Red Tape Reduction Act was established to control the administrative burden that regulations impose on businesses.

Each year, the President of the Treasury Board provides a report on the results of the one-for-one rule. The results can be found in the annual reports on the regulatory evaluation and results page.

How the one-for-one rule works

When a new or amended regulation increases the administrative burden on business, regulators are required to offset – from their existing regulations – an equal amount of administrative burden cost on business.

• The value of the administrative burden cost savings or cost increases to business are made public in the Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement when the regulatory change is published in the Canada Gazette.

The rule requires regulators to remove a regulation each time they introduce a new regulation that imposes new administrative burden on business.

Regulators are required to provide offsets within two years of receiving final approval of regulatory changes that impose new administrative burden on business.

Internal review of the Act

In April 2020, the Government of Canada initiated a legislated review of the Red Tape Reduction Act.

The internal review found that while the one‑for‑one rule is working, administrative burden and other costs can be further reduced by promoting a broad examination of regulations. The review highlighted stakeholder views on the scope of the rule and future policy areas to explore. This includes addressing regulatory burden on individuals and organizations, not just on businesses. A summary of the internal review and its findings are available in this report.