Many will be watching for signs Ottawa actually tackling the regulatory burden.Ottawa—The federal government is making promising statements about seriously tackling the burden of regulations the country's businesses face as they attempt to improve their international competitiveness.In many cases, it comes down to I'll believe it when I see it.Treasury Board President Scott Brison has released the latest report on Federal Regulatory Management Initiatives that outlines the benefits and costs of significant federal regulations and provide updates on regulatory reform progress. The rules requires the removal of an existing regulation for every new one introduced.Brison said the government emphasized in the 2018 Fall Economic Statement its commitment to modernizing Canada's regulatory system, making it more efficient, agile and less burdensome, while protecting the health, safety and environment of Canadians. Next year, a new suite of regulatory modernization initiatives will support innovation and economic growth, including an Annual Regulatory Modernization bill to remove outdated or duplicative legislative requirements, he said.His announcement was welcomed by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, which earlier in 2018 released a report called Death by 130,000 Cuts, which made a strong case for federal and provincial regulatory simplification and harmonization.Chamber spokesman Phil Taylor said the 1 for 1 rule as an important tool for sound regulatory management. “However much more is needed to truly move the needle on regulatory competitiveness. We give the government full credit for adopting a number of the report's recommendations in the Fall Economic Statement.“Now comes the hard work of implementing those commitments to make meaningful changes to way the federal government regulates and we look forward to working with them on this,” he said.The agriculture strategy report released in September called for an agile regulatory system “that promotes the competitiveness of the agrifood sector and moves at the speed of commerce.”While regulatory assurances on quality and safety are necessary, Canada's system  “is increasingly inhibiting industry's nimbleness by restricting innovative practices and products, by being slow to make approvals, and by not being coordinated across departments and levels of government.“Most importantly, there is no central body that looks at the cumulative impact of regulations from multiple departments on the sector's competitiveness,” the report said.The agrifood sector is working on a plan to push the government to adopt the report's recommendation to create a permanent and independent panel of industry experts to advise regulators.The panel would identify ways to improve regulations and work with regulators “to regularly review the stock of all regulations, technical guidance and associated  policies to ensure they are necessary, appropriate and effective in achieving intended objectives in the most cost-effective manner as possible.”In addition to immediate action on regulations making Canadian products uncompetitive, the report called for pilot projects to test ways to simplify the regulatory process.Brison said that under the one for one rule, the net administrative burden on business was reduced by $71,395 annually in the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year. One new regulatory title was introduced, and 86 regulations were repealed in the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year, resulting in a net reduction of 85 regulations from the stock of federal regulations. The total number of administrative requirements in federal regulations was 136,121, a reduction of 458 from the previous year.The Fall Economic Statement said the government would examine whether regulatory efficiency and economic growth is an integral part of regulators' mandates. “This would encourage implicated departments and agencies to simplify regulatory proposals, and better address other considerations when designing and implementing regulations, while continuing to prioritize health and safety and environmental responsibilities.”It said agrifood and aquaculture along with health/bio-sciences, transportation and infrastructure would receive special reviews to “ensure that the regulatory system keeps pace with emerging technologies and new business models.”The government also plans to create an External Advisory Committee on Regulatory Competitiveness to assist in identifying regulatory changes that promote economic growth and innovation.Alex Binkley is a freelance journalist and writes for domestic and international publications about agriculture, food and transportation issues. He's also the author of two science fiction novels with more in the works.