There is a cost for all that government red tape, in the amount of time it takes to fill out all the forms and the time it takes away from other work business owners could be doing. That’s what the CFIB’s annual Red Tape Awareness Week is all about. Senior Policy Analyst with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, SeoRhin Yoo, says last year small businesses spent 735 hours complying with regulations and over a third of that, which works out to about 32 business days, is spent on red tape that could be eliminated without compromising public health and safety.

She says, “I think all governments need to make sure they are keeping costs low for regulation compliance for businesses in order for those businesses to help keep their prices and costs down for consumers.”  Yoo stresses that with a looming threat of tariffs from the U.S., Canada’s governments need to focus on boosting this country’s productivity and competitiveness.

Eighty-seven per cent of small business owners polled said that excessive government regulations significantly reduce their business’s productivity and ability to grow. A couple of ways the CFIB suggests that federal, provincial and municipal governments can cut red tape ar by simplifying existing regulations using plain language, reducing the number of regulations, and improving government customer service, which would include not having to wait on hold as long when you are trying to talk to someone on the phone.