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Speech
by Reg Alcock
President of the Treasury Board
Launch the Government of Canada's Implementation Plan for Smart Regulation
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Against Delivery
March
24, 2005
National Press Club
Ottawa, Ontario
It is good to see so many people here today.
When I was first appointed President of the Treasury Board,
the Prime Minister asked me to appoint a new
Comptroller General, modernize financial systems, enhance internal audit, build
the capacity of the public service, begin a process of reviewing all government
spending and to seek opportunities to modernize and ensure that Canadians are
getting the best value for their tax dollar.
In the 2004 budget we reported on those plans and were given
the resources to begin a string of reforms. I began a series of nine reviews of
government operations: Capital Asset Management, Public Sector Compensation,
Procurement and Contracting, Corporate and Administrative Services,
Professional Services, Use of Information Technology, Service Delivery
Infrastructure, Federal Institutional Governance, and Legal Services,
We tackled structural changes for procurement, real property
and services. That is how in Budget 2005 we announcement $10.9 billion of
reallocations - of changes in how we spend internally.
We expect
the major changes we made in procurement, led by Minister Brison, will allow us
to reallocate $2.5 billion as it plays out. We expect the major changes in real
property, also led by Minister Brison, to save us $300 million in the first two
years, and up to $1.5 billion over the five-year life of the program. And we
expect the service to Canadians initiative, under the leadership of Ministers
Vole and Robillard, to greatly improve the services offered to Canadians and to
save us over $2 billion a year, ongoing.
Most recently, we have been working hard on improving how
we regulate. Some of you, I know, have been following the evolution of this
initiative for some time, while for others, it will be something new.
This
morning, I would like to provide a very brief overview of what smart regulation
is all about, why we are focusing on it, and what it will mean to Canadians.
But first, a look at how we got to where we are today.
We began this process with a study phase. We invited the OECD to examine Canada's
regulatory system and make suggestions for improvement. We volunteered for this study because we
wanted to ensure that we did not fall behind other countries in the future. The
OECD country study gave us a series of recommendations for reform and this
advice helped shape the strategy being released today.
The
next step was to conduct a review from a Canadian perspective.
To that end, we established the External Advisory Committee
for Smart Regulation, made up of representatives from industry, academia and
consumers, and chaired by Gaetan Lussier, who is here with us today. Their report was released in September with
recommendations on a strategy for regulatory reform.
What both of these reports highlighted was that Canada's
regulatory system needed improvement. In some cases, there's too much - too
much fragmentation, too much complexity and too much inconsistency. And in other respects, there's too little -
too little transparency, too little internal and international coordination and
too little overall strategic direction.
The
Implementation Plan I am announcing today addresses these concerns - and others
- and sets into motion a process of renewal and reform that will fundamentally
change how we approach regulation in this country.
Every concerted effort government has made over the years on
regulatory reform has brought about some improvements. But as I have
said, with the pace of change we face, we must continually adapt our actions
and interventions. In this sense, regulatory reform
is and should be an ongoing project of government.
The Prime Minister has designated me to champion the work. He has also committed Canada to a key part
of the agenda, specifically regulatory cooperation with the US. We
have organized a group of 15 Ministers - The Deputy Prime Minister, Ministers
of Transport, Finance, Industry, Natural Resources, Fisheries and Oceans,
Environment, Foreign Affairs, International Trade, Agriculture, Health, Public
Works and Government Services, National Revenue, Human Resources and Skills
Development, and the Minister of State for Public Health - each of whom is
taking a piece of the large puzzle and together we are driving a coordinated
strategy to drive a smart approach to regulation.
"Smart" is used in the business world in reference to goals
and objectives. It's an acronym for: Specific, Measurable, Attainable,
Realistic, Timely. So when I say we are
putting forward a smart approach to regulating, I mean building a regulatory
system that is more responsive and better able to advance Canadian interests
and priorities.
Smart regulation has many elements but it has a single
theme: to renew regulation, so that it is relevant to the realities of our
time. Smart regulation is necessary
because of advances in technology, the increasing pace of change, the greater
mobility of people and ideas, and the growing danger of cross-boundary health
and environmental risks.
Smart regulation understands that we cannot continue to do
things as they have always been done; that in today's world, regulation can -
and must - become a competitive advantage and a key instrument for achieving
our social, environmental and economic objectives. Smart regulation sees the bigger picture, understands the wider
trends - and positions Canada to succeed in the years ahead.
Smart regulation will change how we go about regulation, how we establish
priorities, coordinate across jurisdictions and measure performance. It is not
something we do once and then set aside.
As I mentioned a moment ago, today's announcement really
begins a process of ongoing
reform. So what will smart regulation
mean to the average citizen? How will
it affect their lives? And why is this
worth doing?
Well, whether we realize it or not, regulation touches all
of us, every day. Regulation ensures
that the products we use, the vehicles we drive, the medications we consume and
the foods we eat, are safe. Regulation
also sets the stage for businesses to innovate, to grow and to provide
opportunity, prosperity and a higher standard of living for all Canadians.
At its best, regulation can play a key role in preserving
our environment for future generations.
At its worst, it can frustrate economic and social goals, discourage
risk taking, paralyze initiative and overwhelm businesses, both large and
small. And because regulation does play such an important role in
the lives of Canadians, it's essential that we have the best, most flexible
regulatory system that we possibly can.
The pay-off for doing so is enormous.
It will mean that Canadians have better access to new, safe
drug treatments and medical devices; more predictability and accountability for
environmental assessment; greater availability of better pesticides, improved
access to markets abroad and better jobs here at home. It will mean new tools for First Nations,
enabling them to close the opportunity gap and participate more fully in the
life of our country. And for
businesses, large and small, it will mean less red tape and fewer regulatory
hurdles.
Well, if these are the goals that we seek, what are the
principles that will guide us? Our
approach to smart regulation will be grounded in four key principles.
First and foremost, protecting the health and safety of
Canadians. There will be no sacrificing
of standards or diminishing of protection - for our health, our environment or
our quality of life. Period.
Second, we will ensure that regulation reflects our values,
and that means conducting compliance activities transparently - fully open to
public input and public scrutiny.
Third, we will seek to learn from the best and to
use the best - from within Canada and from around the world. We need to ensure that the best practices become common practice.
And fourth, we will ensure ongoing coordination among all
levels of government - Aboriginal communities, citizens and business groups -
so that Canada's regulatory system develops in sync - and not in silos.
Let
me give you an example of what I mean.
A food processing company may interact with a number of
different government departments - from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to the Departments of Health, Environment,
Industry - and even International Trade if its products are going into other
markets.
We need to make sure that all those Departments are
coordinating in order to minimize delays, clarify expectations and streamline
procedures. And we need to make sure
that these various departments aren't sending conflicting messages along the
way. We call this "whole of government
thinking". Canadians call it common
sense - and I think it's overdue.
Smart regulation will take a holistic approach to policy and
ensure that compliance is easier. And
by making the overall process more coherent, we will also enhance transparency
so that Canadians will know who is responsible for what and where to turn for
answers.
One way we're making this happen is through an initiative
called BizPal. This is a web-based
service that will allow businesses to generate a customized list of permits and
licenses required by all levels of government.
This one stop resource will save businesses time and money, clarify
compliance steps and help governments align their regulatory systems. Part of this "big picture" approach involves
reviewing the large stock of existing regulations.
If there are regulations that no longer make sense, we
should eliminate them. If simpler rules
are appropriate, we should use them. If
there is regulatory overlap, we should end it.
We must have all the
regulation we need - but only
the regulation we need.
Sometimes our regulations are simply outdated; leftover
structures from earlier days. They may have been passed decades ago to deal
with the challenges of their time, but they aren't as effective as they might be
in addressing the needs of our time.
Fisheries is a good example. The Fisheries Act was passed in 1867 and has not undergone a
substantial change since. In the
meantime, our fishing industry has undergone profound changes - from simply
catching fish to farming them. And yet
we are still trying to regulate this very different industry with this very old
piece of legislation.
Take food and drug safety. Under the current rules,
something is either a food or a drug.
But with breakthroughs in biotechnology, a new field is opening up:
nutraceuticals - food as medicine - requiring a whole new way of looking at -
and regulating - these products.
We need to make sure that our regulatory system can adapt to
these kinds of developments - that we stay ahead of the curve. Part of that means changing how we go about
developing regulations. Right now, it's
too top down. What's needed is a new approach,
where the concerns and expertise of citizens and businesses are taken into
account at an earlier stage and on an ongoing basis. Such an approach looks not only to what is needed today, but to
what will be needed
tomorrow.
In a globalized economy, where we are inextricably connected
with our international trading partners, we need to find better ways for our regulators
to work more closely with other nations, using more consistent approaches. To that end, we have created a working
group, co-chaired by International Trade and the Privy Council Office, to
develop a framework for action, clear away the clutter and streamline these
interactions.
Now, there's an old saying that "he who works with a hammer
sees every problem as a nail". When it
comes to regulation, we need to get away from that kind of thinking. Smart
regulation means using the best tool for the problem at hand; consistently
employing the best technique for every situation. Sometimes that will be through regulation, but sometimes it will
be through other means.
Let me turn now to the road ahead - to the nitty gritty of
how we will proceed and what Canadians can expect.
In planning the implementation of Smart Regulation, we have
embraced that old Holiday Inn notion that "the best surprise is no
surprise." We want to avoid those
situations where a new regulation or policy is introduced, only to find that it
conflicts with that of another department - or jurisdiction. That means better coordination - across
departments, across the government.
Every Minister will take action, and will lead the smart
regulation initiatives going on in their own particular area. The Privy Council Office will coordinate
this government-wide effort through a series of theme tables - five in all -
which will provide a forum for exchange among the various regulatory arms of
government as well as facilitate input from the provinces, territories,
citizens, businesses and non-governmental organizations.
The five themes are:
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A Healthy Canada;
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Environmental Sustainability;
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Safety and Security;
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Aboriginal Prosperity and Northern Development; and,
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Innovation, Productivity and the Business Environment.
If these themes sound familiar, they are. They reflect the Government's priorities as
outlined in recent Speeches from the Throne and federal Budgets. We want smart regulation to support and
reinforce these priorities so that we have a comprehensive, coordinated
approach to achieving the objectives we have set before Canadians. Let me just
quickly touch on each of these themes.
First, a healthy Canada.
As you know, we live in an age of medical miracles and
biotech breakthroughs that are revolutionizing our understanding of health and
how to improve it, disease and how to prevent it, life and how to enhance
it. Each day seems to bring a new drug
for an old disease - and new hope for more people. Canadians deserve access to those new drug therapies that are
safe and effective.
Health Canada's Therapeutic Access Strategy is doing just
that - working hard to improve the timeliness, efficiency and transparency of
its drug review process.
Minister Dosanjh and his department have expedited the
process, developed arrangements with the U.S. and Australia to share expertise,
embraced international standards for electronic submissions and enhanced
transparency by publicly disclosing the scientific information on which their
decisions are based.
The result? A
substantial reduction in the backlog of pharmaceutical submissions and a
substantial increase in the number of submissions reviewed within
internationally comparable time lines.
And all of this, without reducing our standards or compromising our
vigilance. That's smart regulation in action. And that's contributing to a healthy Canada.
The second theme is environmental sustainability.
As the recent budget made clear, this is a key component not
only of the quality of our lives but also of the strength of our economy. Smart regulation can have a significant
impact on environmental sustainability, in a wide variety of areas, but let me
just focus on one project being undertaken by Fisheries and Oceans.
Working closely with the provinces, industry and
non-governmental organizations, that department is taking significant steps to
reduce the amount of red tape relating to the protection of fish habitats. There will be less regulation for low-risk
initiatives - such as building docks in areas where the risk to fish habitat is
low. But there will be greater scrutiny
for projects that pose greater risk.
The renewed Habitat Management Program enables Minister
Regan and his department to review major projects more expeditiously and in a
way that will improve consistency in decision-making. This means more predictability for the public - and greater
protection for the environment.
Third, safety and security.
Minister Lapierre and his department are looking at ways to
enhance the safety of air travel by setting performance goals and establishing
risk assessments. Their aim is to set
the standards and then let the aviation organizations determine how best to
achieve them. This will provide
greater flexibility to the aviation sector, increase its capacity to address
safety issues before they arise and result in greater safety for the traveling
public.
Fourth, we want to use smart regulation to spur Aboriginal
prosperity and to foster northern development.
One of the ways Minister Scott and his department are doing
that is with Bill C-20, the First Nations Fiscal and Statistical Management
Act. The goal here is to build the
regulatory capacity of First Nations - an essential component of
self-government.
Whether
in the areas of property taxes or the issuing of bonds for local projects, new
tools in the hands of First Nations means new opportunities for economic
development and economic self reliance.
The
External Advisory Committee on Smart Regulation recommended a single window approach for regulating in the
North. To that end, we have signed a Memorandum of Agreement to establish the Northern Gas
Project Secretariat. The Secretariat will be
responsible for the design and provision of a coordinated information
management system serving as the single window on project-related information
for stakeholders and the public.
Fifth and finally, smart regulation can become a key
contributor to enhancing innovation, productivity and to creating the right
business environment.
Here, the examples are numerous, but let me just quickly
mention two.
The first is the Paperwork Burden Reduction initiative,
co-chaired by Industry Canada and the Canadian Federation of Independent
Business. Garth Whyte, Executive Vice-President
of CFIB, is here today. One of the
concerns most often cited by small and medium-size businesses is the amount of
time they spend on paperwork. Federal, provincial and municipal regulation can
bog them down and affect their bottom line.
Our goal is to significantly reduce this burden so that our
entrepreneurs can spend less time filing forms and more time creating
jobs.
Second, we are creating a new management system for
developing and implementing regulation.
This will set out the principles and objectives for regulation and the
regulatory process. This new approach
to "regulatory governance" will ensure that all relevant risk factors are taken
into account and provide guidance on choosing the right regulatory tool for the
job at hand. It will also set out
guidelines for effective consultations and establish a ranking system for
regulatory submissions so that applications can be processed based on priority.
Regulation of low risk activities will be easier to
implement, while those with greater risks will require more in-depth
information. This way, we will be able
to assign resources to where they are needed most - and remove them from where
they are needed least.
Now, as I mentioned, all of these initiatives, from various
federal departments, are being coordinated through PCO. For the moment, we are focusing on getting
our own house in order at the federal level, but eventually we will expand
these tables to include our colleagues in the provinces, territories and
municipalities. This will be important - not only because we have much to learn
from other jurisdictions - but because Canadians don't live their lives or run
their businesses in a "federal" or "provincial" world. They expect that all levels of governments will work together, with each one
knowing what the other is doing.
I'm pleased to report that this kind of interaction is
already underway, with the establishment of a federal, provincial, territorial
and municipal working group that is sharing best practices, coordinating actions
and even developing common approaches.
And to keep us all on the right road and headed in the right direction,
there will be a Regulatory Advisory Board, which will include people from
outside of government. Reporting to Canadians will be an important part of
smart regulation.
We will publish the "Report on Actions and Plans" every six
months - both in hard copy and online.
I am delighted to be able to release the first such report today. I am also pleased to launch our website with
links to all federal departments and agencies as well as provinces and
territories. Eventually, we hope to
provide links to municipal websites as well.
So let me just close by saying that Smart Regulation is the
right response, at the right time, developed in the right way. It puts citizens at the centre of all we do,
making their safety, health and quality of life the starting point - and bottom
line - for every regulation. Smart Regulation
is about simplifying the process that businesses must follow, making compliance
easier and outcomes better.
In short, it is about addressing the unfinished work before
us, providing businesses with a foundation on which they can build and
Canadians with a regulatory system on which they can rely.
Thank you. And now
I'd be happy to take your questions.
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