The city of Langford grabbed the national spotlight on Thursday, earning the 2014 Golden Scissors Award for its plan to reform business licences.
The small city swept aside dozens of larger federal and provincial agencies to win the award, which is handed out each year by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business to recognize efforts in cutting red tape to foster growth.
The CFIB said Langford’s “positive action” ensures that all business licenses issued in the municipality will now remain in effect until there is a major change to the business, such as relocation. The federation added that while requiring annual renewal of business licenses is a guaranteed source of revenue for local governments, it adds needless costs and paperwork for small business owners.
“It’s such a simple thing, but it makes so much sense — there’s no reason why other cities across Canada can’t do the very same thing tomorrow,” said CFIB executive vice-president Laura Jones. “In fact, that’s exactly what CFIB is calling on them to do.”
Langford claims its decision to reduce the red tape burden on its small businesses won’t cost municipal coffers much. While the city loses around $70,000 a year in revenue, it will save about $40,000 per year on the costs to administer the program.
“On behalf of my colleagues on Langford city council, I am honoured to accept the Golden Scissors Award,” Mayor Stew Young said in a statement. “Our council felt that adopting a permanent business licence was a practical decision that would benefit business owners and citizens alike. We hope other municipalities look to Langford as a model of what a small business-friendly community can be.”
The CFIB presented the award to Young on Thursday to mark the fourth day of Red Tape Awareness in Canada.
A panel of senior CFIB employees chose the winner — as well as three honourable mentions — from dozens of nominations received from across Canada.
The three honourable mentions were:
• Jean Saint-Gelais, Secretary General of the Consul executive, Government of Quebec. Saint-Gelais has played a key role over many years in keeping ministries and public agencies on track with implementing the 63 practical recommendations of the Red Tape Reduction Action Plan. Overall, the cost of red tape at the provincial level has been reduced by eight per cent, or $140 million.
• Jean-Pierre Lamarche, director general Passport Canada, who was responsible for implementing a new 10-year passport along with other security and process changes that promise to save Canadian travellers time and headaches.
• Tony Clement, president of the Treasury Board, who created the federal Red Tape Reduction Commission, which stipulates that for every new regulation imposed on businesses, at least one regulation of equal or greater impact must be removed. In the last year, this has meant an $18 million reduction in the regulatory burden on businesses.
