Guest Columnists

CRE Reader Issues Invitation to the International Conference on Regulatory Reform in Toronto
The Director of Canada's Red Tape Secretariat wrote to CRE to announce a major international conference on regulatory reform best practices being hosted by the Government of Ontario in partnership with the Institute of Public Administration of Canada. The conference, "Red Tape to Smart Tape: Fostering Regulatory Innovation in the 21st Century," will be held September 25-27, 2002 in Toronto. According to its organizers, by doing business smarter, governments can: (1) implement responsible regulation that promotes economic growth while protecting public health, safety, and the environment; (2) deliver efficient and competitive programs and services with as little red tape as possible; and (3) adopt improvements in technology to enhance government performance and customer service. CRE supports the conference's goals of reducing unnecessary regulation and improving governmental regulatory systems.

Guest Column Submission:

International Conference on Regulatory Reform in Toronto

Name:	Scot Weeres
Affiliation:	Red Tape Secretariat
Title:	Director

Getting people talking about innovative, "smart tape" approaches to regulating is the purpose of an international conference being hosted by the Government of Ontario in partnership with the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC) in September 2002.

Organizers Scot Weeres, Director of the Red Tape Secretariat, and Pat Dutil, Director of Research for IPAC, expect that domestic and international business leaders and academics, as well as civil servants and elected officials from various levels of government around the world, will attend the fall conference.

"We want to encourage discussions about how business and government can learn from one another," said Weeres. "The conference will showcase smart tape and regulatory reform best practices and achievements from around the world. We have an excellent line-up of speakers, including Malcolm Sparrow, Professor of the Practice of Public Management at Harvard University, Brad McKay, Vice-President of Parmalat Canada and President of the Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology, and Ali Haddou-Ruiz of the Comision Federal de Mejora Regulatoria (the Commission for Federal regulation) in the Government of Mexico."

The conference, "Red Tape to Smart Tape: Fostering Regulatory Innovation in the 21st Century," will be held September 25-27, 2002 in Toronto.

Keynote speakers, discussion panels, workshops and selected papers will focus on red tape challenges, opportunities and solutions, including new ideas and approaches to regulation used around the globe. Topic areas include ways to improve security, customer service and competitiveness.

The need for smarter approaches to regulation

Governments at all levels today need to be developing and using the most efficient and effective regulatory means at their disposal to respond to current and emerging challenges and opportunities of providing products, programs and services. By doing business smarter, governments can:

The business community and general public's frustration with unnecessary regulations is well known. Eighty-two percent of respondents to Canada's Citizens First survey in 2000 identified government forms and red tape reduction as the top priority for government to improve its service to the public. Forms, standards, procedures, licenses and regulations that are obsolete or redundant are a costly burden to business, consumers and government.

The real costs of red tape
Outdated regulatory systems can impose compliance and management costs that stifle economic activity. According to a survey undertaken by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) of 8,000 small- and medium-sized enterprises in 11 different countries, a typical company spends an average $27,500 U.S. per year complying with regulations. "The cumulative effect of many regulations … from multiple institutions and layers of government is to slow down business responsiveness, divert resources away from productive investments, hamper entry into markets, reduce innovation and job creation, and generally discourage entrepreneurship," said the 2001 OECD report entitled "Businesses' Views on Red Tape."

One of the keynote speakers at the upcoming conference will be Rolf Alter, Head of the OECD's Regulatory Reform Programme and Deputy Director of the OECD's Public Management Service (PUMA).

Changing the culture

"Since the creation of the Ontario Red Tape Commission in 1996, we have seen a shift in the regulatory culture of the Ontario Public Service" said Weeres. "This is evident from the 14 Red Tape Reduction and Government Efficiency Acts that have been passed since 1996. Ministries, agencies and their stakeholders have identified over 50 outdated Acts that have been repealed, as well as red tape reduction and customer service amendments and improvements to over 200 other Acts. We have a lot of good examples to share, and a great opportunity at the conference to learn more about regulatory best practices from around the world."

Want more information?

For further information on the conference, please visit the conference web site at www.smarttape.ca, or IPAC's web site at www.ipaciapc.ca. For further information about the Red Tape Commission, please visit the Commission's web site at www.redtape.gov.on.ca.