SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The GNWT scored an F on the Canadian Federation of Independent Business' latest red tape report card, but only because the federation did not do its homework, according to the finance minister.

Amber Ruddy: Policy analyst says GNWT needs to do more for independent business. - photo courtesy of the National Federation of Independent Business

The national advocacy organization issued its annual assessment, based on how well its analyst consider provincial governments and the GNWT and Yukon governments to be doing in the battle against red tape, late last month.

"It's a report card where we measure the accountability of political leadership in terms of if they have public measurement and constraints on regulators when it comes to red tape and, unfortunately, in the NWT there's been little to no commitment and action on the file and that's one of the reasons they're lagging behind in terms of red tape reduction," said Amber Ruddy, senior policy analyst for Alberta and the NWT. "One of the things we're asking is for governments to get a better sense of what red tape means to small business owners by starting to measure it, and that could be in terms of the number of regulations a business owner has to comply with, it could be in terms of the time it takes to comply with those regulations, or it could be in terms of the cost."

This is the fourth Red Tape Report Card issued by the federation. The GNWT scored an F each year, with the exception of last year's D grade.

Ruddy defines paperwork as "silly rules, poor customer service and excessive paperwork," not related to safety and health issues, faced by private businesses that are not publicly-traded.

"The cost of regulation is about $30 billion to Canadian businesses, and about $9 billion is red tape," she said, citing a study conducted by the federation. "That's what we're tackling here."

Finance Minister Michael Miltenberger takes issue with the low score given to the GNWT, and the way it may have been calculated.

"I'm not sure who the Federation of Independent Business was talking to this time around," he said. "We had a meeting with them probably over a year ago and that was when they were just in the process of finalizing last year's stuff."

The federation represents approximately 250 members in the NWT, according to Ruddy. She said those members would benefit from ease of access to government services.

"Moving to more online applications and payment can really help somebody from having to go into a government office and waiting in line," she said.

The GNWT's Service Innovation Strategy is already on track in that regard, Miltenberger said.

"We've redone all our websites to make them extremely user-friendly. All the programs and services are now listed. Basically, one click will get you to where you have to go," Miltenberger said. "We've set up the ability for businesses and residents to pay GNWT invoices online through their bank using online banking. We've got specific services for the Francophone population."

For more personal service, government service officers are stationed in most remote communities to assist businesses access and navigate the government system.

Last month, the government's corporate registry online system underwent a revamp, with more free services and automatic billing.

"We've got more stuff coming," he said. "We're going to increase the ability to do things online."

Miltenberger also heads a cabinet-level red tape reduction committee, he added.

"Minister Miltenberger does lead a regulatory red tape reduction committee, but, unfortunately, we're not giving the report card out on promises alone," she said. "Until we see those outcomes, we're not prepared to increase the grade."

With regards to the quantification of cuts to red tape, Miltenberger said when devolution takes effect on April 1, what the federation considers red tape will be slashed.

"Devolution is going to, we believe, streamline a very major part of our regulatory regime here in the NWT, both the devolution (legislation and the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act," he said.

"If we could measure red tape by the length, we're going to cut off 5,000 kilometres of red tape April 1 with Ottawa. Not just one piece, but all 5,000 bits of red tape that are across government."