Regulatory Reform in British

Columbia, Canada

OECD Workshops, Cuernavaca, Mexico

November 2014

Session 5: Assessing Impacts -

Methodology

Overview

Regulatory Reform Policy and Checklist

Process

Regulatory count

Database

Governance

Challenges

3

Scope

Broad definition of regulation

Statute

Regulation

Policy

Forms

Policy

Regulatory Reform Policy:

Guides the development of all new and updated

legislation, regulations, policies and forms.

Ensures all requirements are necessary, results-

based and not too onerous for citizens and

businesses

5

Checklist

Checklist:

Provides evidence that the principles have been

applied as part of good policy development.

Signed by the Minister responsible

6

Policy and Checklist – BC Context

Regulatory Reform Policy and Checklist is BC’s regulatory impact assessment (RIA) model

Together provide guidance and best practice principles to support the analysis of any potential impacts of new or revised regulations.

Principles based approach achieves outcomes and tends to be less time and resource intensive

7

Regulatory Reform Principles

New or amended regulation is:

Needed and efficient

Outcome based and will be regularly reviewed

Transparently developed and will be clearly

communicated

Cost effective and evidence-based

Supportive of BC’s economy and small business

Policy and Checklist (RIA)

Principles are part of a good policy process

Better decision-making processes should lead to better policy decisions

Aim is to ensure that regulation achieves its objectives effectively and efficiently without creating unnecessary burden on government, businesses or citizens

9

Checklist

Completed checklist

demonstrates

accountability that:

Principles were applied

Change to the count

Minister is aware of the

change and signs that

the principles were

applied

Process

To ensure policy objectives are met, the

principles are applied to three different

processes:

Request for Legislation (RFL)

Order in Council (OIC)

Policy or form

Request for Legislation

Application across BC government

Each ministry is responsible for their regulatory reform efforts

Dedicated Regulatory Reform Director and File Manager in each ministry

Work together to ensure the policy is applied,

and to measure regulatory burden. How?

Quarterly conference calls

Training sessions

13

Regulatory Count

Purpose of count

Indication of the

regulatory burden

Track and report progress

Accountability

Transparency

Regulatory Count

Created to measure the regulatory burden.

In 2001, all ministries were asked to count all

requirements in the statutes, regulations and

policy under their areas of responsibility.

Regulatory Reform policy put in place to

control new regulation and review existing

regulation.

15

Regulatory Count

Change to Regulatory Count

Regulatory Count Results

Reported annually

One-for-one approach

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

Ju

n 2

004

Ju

n 2

006

Ju

n 2

007

Ju

n 2

008

Ju

n 2

009

Ju

n 2

010

Ju

n 2

011

Ju

n 2

012

Ju

n 2

013

Regulatory Count by Quarter

June 2004 - March 2014

Source: JTST Regulatory Reform Database

Database

Regulatory Reform Branch has database

oversight

Each Ministry updates their count

Two required positions:

Regulatory Reform Director

File Manager

Governance

Govern by influence

Collaborative approach

Cooperative approach

Culture shift

It is best practice

Enable and encourage

Don’t want a burdensome process

Flexible

Data challenges

Consistency

Assumes 1 = 1

Assumes decrease in count = decrease in

burden

Better regulation leads to a decrease in

regulatory burden but there may be no

change in count

Regulatory Reform in British

Columbia, Canada

OECD Workshops, Cuernavaca, Mexico

November 2014