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National watchdog fails territory on red tape
But NWT business chamber thinks differently

Stewart Burnett
Northern News Services
Published Monday, February 9, 2015

NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business failed the territory for regulatory accountability but the NWT Chamber of Commerce doesn't think the organization spends enough time here to know what it's talking about.

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Mike Bradshaw, executive director of the NWT Chamber of Commerce, thinks the GNWT is doing well in reducing red tape and making a friendly regulatory environment for business. He called the CFIB "way off the mark" in its assessment of the territory. - Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo

In the CFIB's fifth annual Red Tape Report Card, the GNWT received the worst mark in Canada with not a single check mark against any of the CFIB's barometers.

Amber Ruddy, senior policy analyst for the CFIB, said the GNWT has shown "zero appetite for red tape reduction initiatives."

She was in Yellowknife last week meeting with government officials and the business community to discuss ways to reduce red tape.

Ruddy said there are some clear steps the government can take to address its regulatory accountability, such as assigning a minister responsible for oversight of the subject.

"Right now, I feel the Northwest Territories government is reluctant to even admit that there is red tape here and frankly they need a reality check because there's a lot," said Ruddy.

But Mike Bradshaw, the chamber of commerce's executive director, thinks the regulatory environment in the NWT has been improving.

"The CFIB doesn't spend enough time, or perhaps any time, in the Northwest Territories, except to complain about things," said Bradshaw.

He called the CFIB "way off the mark" in its assessment of progress the GNWT has made.

A clear example of improvement, Bradshaw noted, is the government's single window service centre model, which the Institute of Public Administration of Canada just awarded a bronze medal for public sector leadership in 2014.

Bradshaw said the government has done a number of small things, such as overhauling the application and submission process at corporate registries. This means that filing annual reports and other compliance submissions, which used to be an overly rigorous process, is a simple walk-in job now.

The corporate registry used to require hand completion of all government forms, no matter if the company's information was already in a digital Word document, but now the government accepts Word documents.

"Another good example is drivers licences," he said. "And that affects everyone from businesses to individuals who reside here. It used to be a painful process to go and get your licence renewed."

What used to take an hour and a half has been reduced to about 10-15 minutes, he said.

"Over the past year and a half Industry, Tourism and Investment has built a whole inventory of business programs and services that are available right across government, so if someone wants to start or improve a business they can go to a single site and find out who runs the programs, what they're about and take the necessary steps," said Bradshaw.

But the biggest reduction in red tape has been devolution.

Bradshaw referenced Finance Minister Michael Miltenberger's claim that devolution means the GNWT cut 5,000 kilometres of red tape by localizing decision-making on a number of fronts.

Call for review

Nonetheless, Ruddy wants the GNWT to undertake a review to get a better idea of the burden small businesses in the territory face.

One such review in the Yukon picked specific industries, such as restaurants and hotels, and examined the "pinch points" taking up small businesses' time, such as poor customer service dealing with the government or lack of clarity from different departments.

The federal government has a one-in-one-out rule, meaning for every new regulation imposed, one of equal compliance has to be taken off the books.

Bradshaw said the CFIB bases much of its analysis on whether a government has legislated targets for reducing red tape, which the GNWT does not.

"Just because there isn't a legislated target for reduction in red tape doesn't mean it's not being addressed," he said. "I think it's unfortunate that the CFIB doesn't have that sort of insight."

B.C. instituted a statutory requirement to reduce red tape by 10 to 15 per cent over several years.

"The question is even if we did (something similar), would the GNWT be doing any better?" asked Bradshaw. "Maybe, but we think they're doing pretty well and they're on the right path right now."

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