BC – Anyone who has waited on hold for hours while trying to navigate a phone tree or had to fill out pages upon pages of forms knows about red tape. Most people have dealt with this type of frustration, and there are countless stories of how difficult it can be to access information or register for a government service.
The Province is taking action to cut red tape and improve operational efficiency in the daily lives of British Columbians by doing things like:
- Simplifying the application for hunting and fishing licences by moving the process online;
- Allowing more types of businesses to apply for a liquor licence, opening up the possibility for new revenue streams and diversified services;
- Improving food labelling and repealing 194 regulations to make those regulations easier to understand;
- Launching an online adoption portal, which will help find forever homes for more foster children by eliminating burdensome paperwork and bringing all aspects of the adoption process online; and
- Improving the way people can find information about land usage and moorages in BC by bringing the information online using a simple, user-friendly website.
During 2016’s Red Tape Reduction Day, the Province launched a suggestion button on the front page of the Province’s website so that anyone can submit their idea about how to cut red tape.
Every idea is reviewed and looked at closely to determine whether that input can be turned into action. In addition, every idea submitter receives a summary about how their idea has been assessed, and anyone can track the general status of their suggestion using the ideas tracker.
The Province has received over 450 ideas from British Columbians following the 2015 public engagement and via the submission budget, and is already committed to turning over 150 of those ideas into reality.
Also in 2016, the Province committed to extending its ‘net-zero’ policy to 2019. ‘Net-zero’ is removing a regulatory requirement when one is added. The Province introduced the net zero increase commitment in 2004 to help keep B.C.’s regulatory burden low. Since 2001, the Province has reduced the regulatory burden for citizens and small businesses by 47% and completed hundreds of streamlining initiatives to reduce red tape. Keeping the regulatory count low makes B.C.’s regulatory environment simpler to navigate and puts a focus on making new laws that are streamlined and easy to understand.