Thank you, Mr. Chair, and good morning, colleagues.
Mr. Chair, given that it is Red Tape Awareness Week, I would like to urgently move the following motion. I will read it in full this morning for the benefit of my colleagues and Canadians, especially small businesses, watching these proceedings:
Given that government regulation and red tape impose higher costs on Canadians, making the cost-of-living crisis worse, and that excessive regulation and red tape are felt by small businesses, entrepreneurs and throughout the entire economy, including housing, health care, energy and more, the committee recognize the following negative impacts caused by government red tape and regulation and report to the House that:
i. The 2024 red tape report card, the federal government received a “C-“ on the regulatory burden it places on businesses, according to the CFIB,
ii. 92% of small businesses want the government to reduce regulation and red tape, according to the CFIB,
The CFIB is the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
iii. Canada ranks 34 out of 35 OECD countries in time it takes to approve a building project, while the United States and the United Kingdom approve projects three times faster than Canada, according to the Ontario Housing Affordability Task Force,
iv. The Canadian Home Builders' Association says the average development approval timelines in some of Canada’s most unaffordable cities have continued to worsen, with Toronto increasing from 21 months in 2020 to 32 months in 2022, and Vancouver increasing from 13 months in 2020 to 15 months in 2022,
v. 54% of foreign trained doctors and 64% of foreign trained nurses do not work in health care, according to Statistics Canada,
vi. The Government of Canada says it takes up to 25 years—
You can work an entire lifetime.
—to build a mine in Canada,
In order to lower costs, and improve services for Canadians, the committee call on the government to immediately reduce the regulatory burden and red tape across all sectors in the economy and table a plan within 30 days of this motion being adopted showing reductions in red tape and regulation.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.