Bill C-21 · 41th Parliament · Stephen Harper
Red Tape Reduction Act
An Act to control the administrative burden that regulations impose on businesses
Government bill. Became law.
- IntroducedJan. 29, 2014
- Debated in principleNov. 17, 2014
- Studied by a committeeDone
- Passed its first chamberFeb. 3, 2015
- Passed the second chamberApril 20, 2015
- Became lawApril 22, 2015
Leading supporters
Ranked by the part each played: who is responsible for the bill, who carried it, and who spoke for it most.
- Stephen HarperPrime Minister
Who carries this bill
Arrows run from the person responsible to those who answer to them on this bill. The critic leads the Senate’s scrutiny and answers to no one on it.
What it set out to do
On 29 January 2014, the President of Treasury Board introduced Bill C-21, An Act to control the administrative burden that regulations impose on businesses (Red Tape Reduction Act), in the House of Commons and it was given first reading. Bill C-21 establishes controls on the amount of administrative burden that regulations impose on businesses. The Red Tape Reduction Act enshrines the “One-for-One Rule” in law. Under the One-for-One Rule, for every new regulation added that imposes an administrative burden on business, one must be removed.
Summary by the Library of Parliament.
Where members stand
Votes and debate for this bill have not been read yet.
How it changed on the way
50% of the text as introduced was changed or removed by the time it became law (865 words introduced, 836 passed).
minor changeintent kept
The bill passed with updates only to dates, session references and final chapter number after nearly two years. Core provisions establishing the one-for-one rule stayed identical.
How precisely it is written
mixedChallenging the law: HardDisputing a charge: Hard
The Act sets a clear one-for-one offset rule with defined terms for administrative burden, business and regulation, plus fixed application to Governor-in-Council and ministerial instruments. However, the actual measurement of costs, timing, exemptions and compliance steps are left to further regulations and Treasury Board policies, creating room for argument over what counts as an offset.
Open to argument
“one or more regulations must be amended or repealed to offset the cost of that new burden against the cost of an existing administrative burden on a business”
The phrase relies on undefined cost calculations that section 7 delegates entirely to regulations.“the regulations that the Treasury Board may exempt from the application of that section and the categories for which, and the circumstances in which, such an exemption may be granted”
Broad discretion to create exemptions without statutory limits invites subjective decisions.“The President of the Treasury Board may establish policies or issue directives respecting the manner in which section 5 is to be applied”
Open-ended power to shape the core rule through non-legislative instruments.
Clear-cut
“"administrative burden" means anything that is necessary to demonstrate compliance with a regulation, including the collecting, processing, reporting and retaining of information and the completing of forms”
Provides an objective, inclusive definition that limits interpretive disputes.“This Act applies to regulations made by or with the approval of the Governor in Council, the Treasury Board or a minister of the Crown”
Uses a bright-line test based on who makes the instrument, avoiding vague coverage criteria.
Discretion. Section 6 lets the President of the Treasury Board issue policies and directives on how section 5 applies, section 7 lets the Governor in Council set cost-calculation methods, timelines, pre-2012 credits and exemptions, and section 10 lets the Governor in Council dictate the annual report contents.
Challenging the law itself. Section 8(2) expressly states that no regulation is invalid solely for failure to comply with the Act, and the Charter doctrines of vagueness or overbreadth are unlikely to apply to an internal government accounting rule.
Disputing a charge under it. Section 8(1) grants immunity for anything done under the Act and the obligations fall only on the government when making regulations, so private parties have no direct violation to contest.
Read by a language model from the royal assent text; every quoted phrase appears in the bill. A reading of the drafting, not legal advice.
Did it work?
partly effective
The 2020 statutory internal review by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat concluded that the one-for-one rule is operating as designed and achieving its objective of controlling administrative burden through net reductions, with ongoing annual reports confirming compliance and cumulative savings of over $480 million by 2021. However, the review and stakeholder input noted limitations in addressing cumulative burden and perceptions of increased burden among some businesses, leading to recommendations for broader scope and enhanced regulatory stock reviews.
- Report on the internal review of the Red Tape Reduction ActreviewThe one-for-one rule is working and achieving its stated objective overall, with $60.5 million net annualized reduction in administrative burden and net reduction of 185 regulatory titles from 2012 to 2021, though some stakeholders report feeling increased burden.
- Annual Report for the 2023 to 2024 Fiscal Year: Federal Regulatory Management InitiativesreviewThe federal government remains in compliance with the Red Tape Reduction Act, achieving net removal of $26 million more in annual administrative burden and 22 more regulatory titles in 2023-24, for cumulative net reductions of approximately $81.9 million in burden and 238 titles since 2012-13.
- Annual Report for the 2021 to 2022 Fiscal Year: Federal Regulatory Management InitiativesreviewThe review of the Act concluded it is working as intended to control administrative burden, with net reductions maintained despite a small net increase in one year, and compliance with offset requirements.
Who lobbied on it
No lobbying registration naming this bill is loaded.
Stages and dates from LEGISinfo.