Producers across the country believe that government policies and regulations make it unpalatable to want to expand or even run a small business.
A growing threat to Canada’s food chain
Laure-Anna Bomal, economist with CFIB, warns that the regulatory burden now poses a real risk to the country’s food security.
“Excessive red tape is putting the future of Canadian agriculture and our food supply at risk,” said Bomal. “If farmers and producers walk away because of overwhelming regulations, who will grow our food?”
From municipal building permits, to stringent environmental requirements, to lengthy federal surveys, the most common regulatory pain points are also the most time consuming. For small operations with limited staff, every hour spent navigating rules is an hour not spent producing food.
Billions lost to compliance
CFIB estimates that Canadian businesses face $51.5 billion in compliance costs annually, with almost $18 billion identified specifically as red tape. Agriculture remains one of the most heavily regulated industries in the country, leaving farmers disproportionately affected.
CFIB’s recommendations for change
To address the growing crisis, CFIB is calling on governments at all levels to:
- Measure and publicly report total regulatory burden annually
- Introduce a “two for one” rule to reduce the overall number of regulations
- Simplify existing rules and guidance documents
- Create ongoing channels for feedback and red tape reduction ideas
- Provide flexible, clear guidelines for what counts as compliance
Juliette Nicolaÿ, CFIB’s bilingual policy analyst, stressed the urgency: “Reducing the regulatory burden has been the top priority of agri businesses for years. In the face of global inflation and tariff wars, this is now a matter of survival.”