From liquor laws to 10-year passports, award recognizes red tape warriors
TORONTO, Jan. 23, 2014 /CNW/ - With Canada's Red Tape Awareness WeekTM (January 27 - 31) kicking off in just a few days, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is pleased to announce the national finalists for its third annual Golden Scissors Award.
The Award recognizes an individual or group who has successfully motivated or demonstrated leadership and courage, and produced meaningful and positive results in cutting red tape for small business. Finalists are being evaluated in areas such as visionary leadership, legislating regulatory restraint and immediate impact for small business.
The finalists for the 2014 Golden Scissors Award are:
| Finalist | Red tape reduction initiative |
| Jean-Pierre Lamarche, Director General, Passport Program Management and Strategic Initiatives, and the ePassport team, Passport Canada |
Introducing the 10 year ePassport, reducing wait times for renewals and allowing easier travel for entrepreneurs. |
| Hon. Maureen MacDonald, MLA for Halifax- Needham, (formerly Minister responsible for the Liquor Control Act) |
Permitting in-store beer and wine making services in Nova Scotia. |
| Hon. Brad Wall, Premier of Saskatchewan | Legislating the measurement and reporting of red tape. |
| Stew Young, Mayor, City of Langford, and Langford City Council |
Eliminating the requirement for local businesses to renew their licenses every year. |
| Hon. Tony Clement, President of the Treasury Board, Government of Canada |
Implementing a one-for-one rule: for every new government regulation imposed on businesses, at least one regulation of equal or greater impact must be removed. |
| Doug McNeil, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation, Government of Manitoba Tim Grant, (former) Deputy Minister of Transportation, Government of Alberta Rob Penny, (former) Deputy Minister of Highways and Transportation, Government of Saskatchewan Grant Main, Deputy Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, Government of British Columbia |
Simplifying cross-border trucking rules across Western Canada |
| Hon. Naomi Yamamoto, Minister of State for Small Business, Government of British Columbia |
Making the Mobile Business License Program available in ten regions across BC, allowing mobile businesses to purchase a single business license and operate across participating municipal jurisdictions. |
| Shereen Benzvy Miller, (former) Director General, Office of Small and Medium Enterprises, Public Works and Government Services Canada |
Launching buyandsell.gc.ca, a one-stop shop procurement-focused website that aims to reduce the confusion for businesses wanting to work with government. |
| Hon. Thomas Lukaszuk, (former Minister of Enterprise and Advanced Education), Government of Alberta |
Introducing the provincial Skilled Worker Pilot Project, which aims to give occupation-specific work permits to temporary foreign workers more quickly and address the skilled worker shortage gap. |
| Jim Watson, Mayor, City of Ottawa Mr. Michael J. Semenick, Manager for Strategic Projects, City of Ottawa |
Implementing a Business Ambassador Service for new restaurant entrepreneurs, giving them a single point person from government to liaise with |
| Jean Saint-Gelais, Secretary General of the Conseil executive, Government of Québec |
Enduring commitment to cutting red tape and implementation of 63 practical recommendations of the Report of the Working Group on Regulatory and Administrative Simplification |
| Hon. Don Morgan, Minister, Labour Relations and Workplace Safety, Government of Saskatchewan |
Reducing employment red tape |
| Lynnette Skaalrud, Director, Policy Legislation, Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority Joanne Gasper, Director, Liquor Licensing, Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority |
Streamlining liquor laws |
Dozens of nominations were received from across the country and across all levels of government. The winner of the Golden Scissors Award will be announced on Thursday, January 30 and will receive a special trophy, framed certificate as well as recognition on CFIB's website, Facebook page and other member communication.
Stay tuned for an announcement about a new - and quite different - award, called the Paperweight. It recognizes government departments, agencies, and other entities that are burdening small businesses with more red tape. More details on the finalists for the 2014 Paperweight Award will follow tomorrow, with the winner being announced next week.
Canadians are encouraged to show their support for CFIB's Red Tape Revolution by signing the online petition (www.cfib.ca/rtaw) that will be delivered to governments.
CFIB is Canada's largest association of small- and medium-sized businesses with 109,000 members across every sector and region.
SOURCE: Canadian Federation of Independent Business
For more information, please contact Gisele Lumsden at 416-222-8022 or [email protected].
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