Ottawa-Canada needs to make decluttering its regulatory system a top priority to keep up with rising risks, shifting economies and evolving technologies, says Rory McAlpine, Chair of the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (CAPI).
In the recent federal election, there was a sentiment that it is time to start getting big things done in Canada, he said in a CAPI collection of articles on actions the Carney government should take. “Let’s make regulatory modernization one of those things, starting with the foundations of political accountability.”
To declutter regulation in the agri-food sector “requires a shift in political culture and accountability, not unlike the accountability we expect of our politicians when it comes to taxing and spending decisions. While scientific objectivity must remain at the heart of regulation, we cannot ignore how Canada has drifted into a pattern of regulatory accumulation.”
Canada now stands 35th out of 38 OECD countries for regulatory burden, which in “the face of growing competitive threats, persistent interprovincial trade barriers, ever changing health, safety and environment risks to manage and astonishing technological innovations in our sector, this is a ranking we need to change.”
Achieving regulatory modernization at the federal and provincial levels could start with establishing a Canadian equivalent of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, embedding the Cabinet Directive on Regulation into legislation and giving Treasury Board ministers real oversight powers.
“Where outright national harmonization of standards is too challenging, Canada should hold its internal regulatory practices and associated internal trade barriers to the same standard we commit to in international trade agreements,” McAlpine said. “Developing cross agency regulatory roadmaps for major agri-food supply chains and integrating a regulatory modernization pillar into the next federal-provincial agriculture policy framework would help combat regulatory inertia.”
Regulation-making is not just a legal formality that follows the political slogging to pass legislation. “Getting the regulatory details right, and adapting them as scientific and economic realities change, is vital.
“Endless consultations that delay reform for 10 to15 years, like the changes to the Feed Regulations finally adopted in 2024, are unacceptable. Sunset clauses should become standard practice to prevent stagnation. And just as one-size-fits-all does not work for hockey equipment, it doesn’t work for regulatory design or compliance regimes.”
The goal should be to instill a whole-of-government - or at least a whole-of-portfolio - discipline to design and maintain fit-for-purpose regulatory systems and political consequences on par with fiscal management, he said “The political message to Canadians is simple: better, not more, regulation will keep your food, your family, and your economy safer. And just as we expect timely reports on government spending, we should demand the same on regulatory performance and not just enforcement actions.”
In 2019 the government passed the first-ever Annual Regulatory Modernization Bill amending 12 pieces of legislation across various sectors, although no further bills have passed. In food safety the government has adopted risk-adjusted, outcome-based regulations and, for some food standards, has embraced incorporation by reference to keeping rules updated.
CFIA’s compliance reporting has improved in some areas and Treasury Board has experimented with digital tools, regulatory sandboxes and roadmaps. In the aftermath of major failures, e.g. the Listeriosis crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada has demonstrated it can act quickly and decisively, updating rules and removing red tape in areas like meat inspection and product labeling.
Before the election, Agriculture Minister Kody Blois announced cutting red tape in relation to long overdue changes to feed ingredient approvals, BSE risk measures and certain food labeling and grade standards, all because of the Trump tariff threats and the need for a level playing field.
During the election, the Liberals said they would work with the CFIA to ensure mutual recognition of food safety standards with reliable trading partners. “What would we think of a political party that promises best efforts to work with the Department of Finance to make a tax change? It is time to get beyond episodic press releases and commit to a sustained, politically directed change in Canadian regulatory governance and culture, starting with agri-food.”
This news item prepared for National Newswatch