Red tape.
These two words are daggers in the hearts of many entrepreneurs. But a freshly issued report card from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business suggests some provinces are a lot wore than others—and some really aren’t that bad. Rating each province via high-school style letter grades, this report card isn’t exactly one you’d wanna stick on your refrigerator or brag to mom about.
Manitoba: F
This province scored no brownie points with the CIFB and suffered a degrading F.
Alberta: F
With no political leadership, public report, or commitments to improve, Albert is hit with the red tape F-bomb.
Yukon: F
What did you expect?
Northwest Territories: F
Also predictable.
Prince Edward Island: D
Not much to say here. The island is plagued by red tape, and with no commitments for a brighter future, it’s given a poor score of D.
New Brunswick: C-
With semi-decent leadership and slightly reduced constraints on regulators, New Brunswick scrapes by with a passing grade of C-.
Ontario: C-
In what should be one of the best provinces, Ontario disappoints big time with a barely passing C-, but future prospects look brighter.
Quebec: C+
A target to reduce red tape by 20 percent by 2010 in eighteen government department and agencies earns the francophones a C+.
Saskatchewan: C+
An up-and-comer, this prairie province scored a C+ after becoming the first province to declare Red Tape Awareness Week.
Federal Government: C+
Overall, Canada scores a C+, slightly above the average grade for individual regions. A previous commitment to reduce paperwork burden by 20 percent was set in 2007 but not achieved until 2009.
Newfoundland: B
Perhaps the dark horse of the report card, quiet Newfoundland scored enough points to earn a solid B.
Nova Scotia: B
The government has committed to a 20 percent reduction in the “paperwork burden” by the end of 2010 (15 percent of that target achieved in October 2009), earning a strong B.
British Columbia: B+
Not only does the West Coast boast one of Canada’ most enviable lifestyles, B.C. scores a remarkable B+ thanks to a commitment to reduce regulatory requirements by one-third was achieved in 2004, and a current commitment to maintain a zero net increase in regulations extending through 2012.
