Annual Regulatory Modernization Bill

First Annual Regulatory Modernization Bill

The first ARMB was included in the 2019 Budget Implementation Act and made changes to 12 pieces of legislation in the areas of transportation, pest control, electricity and gas inspection. The following are some examples.

• The Canada Transportation Act and the Food and Drugs Act were amended to allow for innovation, permitting limited exemptions from regulatory requirements for regulatory sandboxes to test new products that would benefit Canadians, such as tissues developed through 3D printing
• The Electricity and Gas Inspection Act was amended to support the use of new technologies, including zero-emission vehicles, light-emitting diodes (LED) and hydrogen-fuelled vehicles
• The Canada Transportation Act was amended to allow for digital and electronic processes and documents, in addition to in-person or paper-based ones
• Changes to the Pest Controls Act removed a redundant review requirement, when another review was already considering the issue or could be modified to include the issue
• Amendments to the Food and Drugs Act provided more clarity to industry about which regulations to apply to their products

Second Annual Regulatory Modernization Bill

On March 31, 2022, Bill S-6, an Act Respecting Regulatory Modernization (second Annual Regulatory Modernization Bill), was introduced in Parliament.

Bill S-6 includes amendments to:

• reduce the administrative burden for businesses
• make digital interactions with government easier
• simplify regulatory processes
• make exemptions from certain regulatory requirements to test new products
• make cross-border trade easier through more consistent and coherent rules across governments

The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat received input from regulators and stakeholders to help inform the legislative amendments included in the second ARMB.

For more information on the bill:

• News release and backgrounder
• Overview of proposed amendments in the second Annual Regulatory Modernization Bill
• Government Bill

Consultation

In spring 2023, the Government of Canada solicited input from interested stakeholders to help inform the development of a future Annual Regulatory Modernization Bill. The consultation sought feedback on three key areas:

1. Incorporation by reference (IBR) of internal government documents by allowing specific documents to have the same force of law as regulations, without the need to make regulatory changes each time the document is updated.
   • Gather feedback on rules and criteria that would be applied to allow regulators to use IBR and ensure its use is consistent, transparent and accountable.
   • Hear about situations where incorporation by reference might be beneficial or where challenges have been encountered.
2. Allowing regulators to establish regulatory sandboxes, a controlled space where temporary flexibility from certain requirements allows them to test new technologies or regulatory approaches.
   • Gather feedback on the rules and criteria around this authority to ensure that regulators are consistent, transparent and accountable.
   • Hear about situations where regulatory sandboxes have been or could be beneficial to stakeholders or where challenges have been encountered.
3. Potential legislative amendments pertaining to the following themes:
   • Barriers to Efficiency: Suggestions on legislative barriers that stand in the way of modernizing regulatory processes.  
   • Overly Restrictive Legislation: Suggestions on legislative provisions that are overly restrictive including those that limit research and development or prevent stakeholders from bringing new products to market.  
   • Unnecessary Requirements: Identify unnecessary and/or out-of-date legislative requirements that create burden or inconsistency in the regulatory environment.  

Feedback was sought through the Annual Regulatory Modernization Bill project on the Let’s Talk Federal Regulations platform until June 19, 2023.

Related links

• 2018 Fall Economic Statement
• Targeted Regulatory Reviews - Canada.ca
• What We Heard: Report on Regulatory Modernization - Canada.ca