The Wynne government has put forward a new omnibus “Red Tape” bill that appears to be modeled on President Trump’s much maligned, Executive Order 13771– an order that forces the gutting of government regulations.
The Walkerton water crisis taught us all how important regulations are to our life and our safety. Canadian financial regulations were widely credited with mitigating the damage to our economy.
Anyone who cares about public safety, public accountability and business not operating in the totally unregulated wild west, should be worried about Schedule 4 of Bill 154.
Buried deep in Bill 154, schedule 4 stipulates that every time the Ontario government creates a new regulation, or reviews an existing one, it will have to assess the cost for business to comply with that regulation and then “offset” the compliance cost of the new regulation, plus 25 per cent.
The Bill is not clear on how the offset will be achieved. It is written in a way that will require any future government to provide the offsets for all future regulations – likely through eliminating already existing regulations or by providing business with a cash equivalent, plus 25 per cent, possibly by means of a tax credit.
To get this schedule of the Bill removed before it becomes law, your MPP needs to hear from you before Thursday, October 26, 2017. Fill out the form below to send an email to your MPP.