Regulatory reform in Canada's agri-food sector

If the government considers regulations to be the preferred solution to achieve an outcome, versus the use of another type of instrument, then the guidance of an effective regulatory policy framework (with policies, institutions and regulatory tools and processes) can provide for the best possible regulatory solution. [...] Not only will a coherent and consistent regulatory framework benefit the competitiveness of the agri-food sector, but it will help the industry contribute to one of the chief aims of the federal government’s Cabinet Directive on Streamlining Regulation, which is to ensure that regulatory activities result in the greatest overall benefit to current and future generations of Canadians. [...] The first phase is designed to identify where the Canadian agri-food sector is in the overall process of regulatory reform, to identify the direction of change, and to provide context for the second phase of this project. [...] In Canada, regulatory activities are intended to provide the “greatest overall benefit to current and future generations of Canadians.” The federal government has recently committed to the following regulatory principles:26 • “protect and advance the public interest in health, safety and security, the quality of the environment, and the social and economic well-being of Canadians, as expressed by [...] The OECD did recommend that Canada undertake the following:27 • “Strengthen the contribution of competition policy to regulatory reform and market openness, including an enhanced advocacy role for the Competition Bureau; • Encourage a more systematic and strategic review of the federal, provincial and territorial regulatory environment and work to harmonise inter-provincial regulatory frameworks;