The federal government took the “triple crown for most absurd regulations,” CFIB announced on Jan. 30. The worst instance of red tape use in the country in the past year, it said, is Canada Border Services Agency’s hefty import duties that have pushed a costume store in Calgary to the brink of closure.
The Costume Shoppe’s imported costumes have been reclassified from “festive wear” to “fancy dress,” resulting in an additional $100,000 in import duties and requiring the small business to refile on previous inventory.
Health Canada also won a CFIB “Paper Weight Award” this week for excessive red tape for natural health product businesses. CFIB says new regulations for the industry will result in “paperwork challenges and excessive fees to get a product into the Canadian market,” as well as challenges complying with complex new requirements including new labelling rules.
The third “award” for the federal government in its red tape “triple crown” went to Finance Canada for bringing payroll services under laws aimed at stopping money laundering and terrorist financing. It means more paperwork for small businesses using payroll services, CFIB said, and it duplicates bank measures already in place to prevent these crimes.
Did anyone here watch the town hall from Edmonton last night? I watched the first from Red Deer on X and attempted to watch last night on FB but the hecklers and comments pissed me off so quit watching. after about 15 minutes. They are sure a different bunch north of me and I don't say that in a positive way from what I heard. I am sure Ganum will have something to say negative as he didn't watch from Red Deer but had lots to say.