Red Tape Report Card: Alberta earns first ever ‘A’ grade

Alberta places 2nd overall after years of failing grades

Calgary, January 27, 2021 – As part of its 12th annual Red Tape Awareness Week, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) released its updated Red Tape Report Card. The Government of Alberta received an ‘A’ grade this year, for the first time in the 11-year history of the Report Card. The province placed second overall and earned the highest score of all the provinces in both the regulatory accountability and regulatory burden sections.

“The Alberta government stands out as most improved moving from an F grade just a few years ago to joining the A club this year,” said Annie Dormuth, Alberta provincial affairs director. “The significant improvement seen over the past couple years demonstrates the Alberta government’s commitment to red tape reduction. We encourage the government to build on that work and make interprovincial cooperation a priority in 2021.”

The 2021 Red Tape Report Card grades are: 
 

Expanded Grading Scheme
Two additional categories, regulatory burden and interprovincial cooperation, were added to this years’ Red Tape Report Card. Of the three assessed areas, governments scored highest on regulatory accountability, the category that has been evaluated on previous report cards. Grades in the two new categories are more mixed.

“Accountability remains the foundation of our report card because trying to reduce red tape without measurement is a bit like trying to lose weight without ever stepping on a scale—possible but not probable,” said Laura Jones, Executive Vice-President at CFIB. “Over the past decade, it’s been great to see provinces step on the scale and set targets to control red tape. We have a lot of A grades in this category where there used to be none. But ultimately people care about whether the burden of unnecessary rules is lighter, so we are evolving the report card to reflect that. Here the grades are mixed, and all provinces have work to do.”

What does it take to earn an A?
Manitoba received the best overall score due to its high marks on accountability and reducing interprovincial trade barriers. Some provinces, like Ontario and Quebec, get good grades for being accountable but still have relatively high regulatory burdens. New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador have the most room for improvement in all areas of the report card. 

“The bar for good grades on our report card is going up. A decade ago, there was virtually no regulatory measurement or accountability. This has improved and now the real work begins. Governments need to reduce red tape in order to give people back time, reduce frustration, and allow business owners to focus on keeping their businesses afloat. Given our battered economy, this is more important now than ever,” concluded Jones. 

For more information on this year’s grades and the new criteria on which governments are being graded, refer to the 2021 Red Tape Report Card.

For media enquiries or interviews, please contact:
Annie Dormuth
CFIB, Alberta provincial affairs director
403-700-1945
annie.dormuth@cfib.ca

About CFIB
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 110,000 members across every industry and region, including 10,000 in Alberta. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners’ chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings. Learn more at cfib.ca.