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The Regulatory Policy

The Regulatory Policy (HTML or Adobe Acrobat Format) of the Government of Canada provides the primary policy framework for making regulations. It provides the guiding principles for the development of regulations and it imposes certain requirements, including:

  • that regulatory authorities demonstrate both that a problem or risk exists and that federal intervention is justified;
  • that all possible means — whether regulatory or non-regulatory — of addressing the problem or risk have been considered;
  • that stakeholders — industry, labour, consumer groups, professional organisations, other governments & interested individuals — be consulted on all phases of the identification of problems, and the development of the regulatory solution;
  • that intergovernmental agreements be respected and that opportunities for intergovernmental co-ordination have been exploited
  • that regulations are consistent with government directives, such as the Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals;
  • that benefits and costs of the regulatory interventions under consideration be assessed, that the benefits justify the costs, and that limited government resources are used where they will do the most good;
  • that adverse impacts on the economy are minimized; 
  • that systems are in place to manage regulatory resources effectively; 
  • that compliance and, when appropriate, enforcement policies be implemented and;
  • that the regulators have the resources for monitoring compliance and enforcing the regulations.top

The Policy does not operate in isolation. Departments and agencies are expected to apply the Policy in conjunction with other Cabinet directives and major policies of the Government. Examples include:

Responsibility for the Regulatory Policy

Responsibility for the Federal Regulatory Policy resides with the Treasury Board (TB). The Regulatory Affairs Division of the Regulatory Affairs & Orders in Council Secretariat of the Privy Council Office supports TB in this role.

Previously, as detailed in the historical section, stewardship of the policy was placed with the President of the Treasury Board of Canada and its supporting secretariat.

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Last Modified: 2000-03-06  Important Notices