2026 Bill 23

	23


First Session, 51st General Assembly 5 Charles III, 2026
BILL 23
AN ACT RESPECTING REGULATORY IMPROVEMENT AND EFFICIENCY
Received and Read the First Time................................................................
Second Reading............................................................................................
Committee.....................................................................................................
Third Reading...............................................................................................
Royal Assent.................................................................................................
HONOURABLE LLOYD PARROTT Minister of Government Services
Ordered to be printed by the Honourable House of Assembly

EXPLANATORY NOTES

This Bill would enact the Regulatory Improvement and Efficiency Act.

The Bill would

· allow the establishment of a Charter of Governing Principles to promote sound regulatory governance;

· prescribe the duties of the Red Tape Reduction Office;

· require the Minister of Red Tape Reduction to make available to the public an annual report regarding the regulatory improvement and efficiency initiatives of the government;

· allow the Lieutenant-Governor in Council to prescribe, by regulation, principles, practices, procedures, measures, targets, goals or other requirements determined necessary to ensure efficiency, improvement, accountability or transparency of regulations and good regulatory practice and governance;

· require every government department to develop and make publicly available service standards relating to the time within which decisions on the issuance of certain licences, permits and other authorizations are required to be made;

· require government departments to develop a red tape reduction plan, where requested by the Minister of Red Tape Reduction; and

· allow the Lieutenant-Governor in Council to exempt, by regulation, a class, form or type of regulation from the scope of the Act or the regulations.

A BILL

AN ACT RESPECTING REGULATORY IMPROVEMENT AND EFFICIENCY

Analysis

1. Short title

2. Definitions

3. Labrador Inuit rights

4. Charter

5. Office

6. Annual report

7. Requirements

8. Service standard

9. Red tape reduction plan

10. Exemptions

11. Legal proceedings

12. Effect of non-compliance

13. Regulations

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Regulatory Improvement and Efficiency Act.

Definitions

2. In this Act

(a) "Charter" means the Charter of Governing Principles established under this Act;

(b) "department" means a department of the government created under the Executive Council Act;

(d) "office" means the Red Tape Reduction Office referred to in section 5;

(e) "regulation" includes

(i) a statutory, regulatory, procedural or administrative rule or other requirement governing citizens, businesses or other organizations, and

(ii) a regulation within the meaning of the Statutes and Subordinate Legislation Act; and

(f) "regulatory governance" includes the principles, processes, procedures and practices by which a regulation is developed, assessed, proposed, scrutinized, measured and monitored for impact and publicly reported on.

Labrador Inuit rights

3. This Act and the regulations made under this Act shall be read and applied in conjunction with the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement Act and, where a provision of this Act or the regulations made under this Act is inconsistent or conflicts with a provision, term or condition of the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement Act, the provision, term or condition of the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement Act shall have precedence over the provision of this Act or a regulation made under this Act.

Charter

4. (1) The minister shall establish a Charter of Governing Principles to promote sound regulatory governance.

(2) The Charter shall include principles that the minister believes, based on the advice of the office, will further the purposes of this Act and reflect best practice in regulatory governance.

(3) The minister shall publish the Charter in the form and manner that the minister considers appropriate.

Office

5. The Red Tape Reduction Office shall

(a) oversee, monitor and, in accordance with this Act, report on the application of the Charter;

(b) advise and assist the minister and departments, offices and agencies of the government of the province in achieving the purpose of this Act and the Charter; and

Annual report

6. (1) The minister shall, on or before June 30 of each year, make available to the public an annual report with respect to the regulatory improvement and efficiency initiatives of the government.

(2) The report referred to in subsection (1) shall include

(a) the progress made in improving regulation and reducing regulatory burden; and

(b) any other information that may be prescribed in the regulations.

Requirements

7. The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may, by regulation, prescribe principles, practices, procedures, measures, targets, goals or other requirements where the minister is of the opinion that they are necessary or desirable for ensuring the efficiency, improvement, accountability or transparency of regulations and good regulatory practice and governance.

Service standard

8. (1) Where, after the coming into force of this Act, an Act or regulation imposes a requirement to obtain a licence, permit or other authorization from a department for an activity or thing that did not previously require a licence, permit or authorization, the department shall develop and make publicly available a service standard respecting

(a) the time within which a decision of the issuance of the licence, permit or authorization shall be made following receipt of the completed application for the licence, permit or authorization; and

(b) any other matter that the minister of the department considers appropriate.

(2) For the purpose of subsection (1), a service standard is made publicly available where the service standard is posted on a publicly accessible website.

(3) Where an Act or regulation that imposes a requirement to obtain a licence, permit or other authorization provides for the time within which a decision on the issuance of the licence, permit or authorization shall be made, subsection (1) does not apply.

Red tape reduction plan

9. (1) Where requested by the minister, a department shall, in coordination with the office, develop, implement and maintain a red tape reduction plan.

(2) A red tape reduction plan shall

(a) include targets for reducing the time within which a decision on the issuance of a licence, permit or other authorization is made following receipt of a completed application for the licence, permit or authorization;

(b) identify potential changes that could be made to improve regulatory effectiveness, efficiency and transparency;

(d) include the other information that may be prescribed in the regulations.

Exemptions

10. The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may, by regulation, exempt a class, form or type of regulation from a requirement of this Act or the regulations.

Legal proceedings

11. Nothing in this Act

(a) creates a right of action; or

(b) entitles a person to commence legal proceedings or affects any legal proceeding.

Effect of non-compliance

12. Non-compliance with this Act, the regulations or the Charter does not affect whether a regulation is of legal force and effect.

Regulations

13. The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may make regulations

(a) prescribing additional duties of the office;

(b) prescribing additional information to be included in a report referred to in section 6;

(c) prescribing principles, practices, procedures, measures, targets, goals or other requirements for the purposes of section 7;

(d) prescribing additional information to be included in a red tape reduction plan referred to in section 9;

(e) exempting a class, form or type of regulation from the scope of this Act or the regulations;

(f) defining a word or expression that is used but not defined in this Act; and

(g) generally, to give effect to the purpose of this Act.