The Regulatory Policy
The Regulatory Policy (HTML
or Adobe Acrobat Format)
of the Government of Canada provides the primary policy framework for making
regulations. It provides the guiding principles for the development of
regulations and it imposes certain requirements, including:
- that regulatory authorities demonstrate both that a problem or risk
exists and that federal intervention is justified;
- that all possible means — whether regulatory or non-regulatory — of
addressing the problem or risk have been considered;
- that stakeholders — industry, labour, consumer groups, professional
organisations, other governments & interested individuals — be
consulted on all phases of the identification of problems, and the
development of the regulatory solution;
- that intergovernmental agreements be respected and that opportunities
for intergovernmental co-ordination have been exploited
- that regulations are consistent with government directives, such as the Cabinet
Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program
Proposals;
- that benefits and costs of the regulatory interventions under
consideration be assessed, that the benefits justify the costs, and that
limited government resources are used where they will do the most good;
- that adverse impacts on the economy are minimized;
- that systems are in place to manage regulatory resources
effectively;
- that compliance and, when appropriate, enforcement policies be
implemented and;
- that the regulators have the resources for monitoring compliance and
enforcing the regulations.
The Policy does not operate in isolation. Departments and agencies are
expected to apply the Policy in conjunction with other Cabinet directives and
major policies of the Government. Examples include:
Responsibility for the Regulatory Policy
Responsibility for the Federal Regulatory Policy resides with the Treasury Board
(TB). The Regulatory Affairs Division of the Regulatory
Affairs & Orders in Council Secretariat of the Privy Council Office supports
TB in this role.
Previously, as detailed in the historical
section, stewardship of the policy was placed with the President of the Treasury
Board of Canada and its supporting secretariat.
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