Minister’s letter: building on our strengths

We have a lot going for us here in Ontario. This is the best place anywhere to raise a family, open and run a business and pursue new opportunities to make dreams a reality.

We’re home to some of the best educational institutions anywhere. We have “Made in Ontario” companies bringing our ingenuity to the world. Most of all, we have dynamic, innovative and hardworking people. We’re building on our strengths to make Ontario open for business, open for jobs.

But for all that’s right about Ontario, hardworking families and job-creating businesses are telling us that Ontario’s regulatory burden is weighing them down.

The good news is, our government has a plan to make Ontario work better for people, and smarter for business. And it starts with empowering people and getting out of the way of business to let them do what they do best — create jobs and opportunity for hardworking families.

The work my ministry is doing is part of our government’s wider approach to making Ontario all that it can and should be. It’s centred around a plan to build Ontario, together. It’s about delivering smarter government for the people of Ontario with a modern, outcome-focused approach to service. It’s about realizing the full potential of workers and businesses to grow our economy by creating a more competitive environment for them to flourish and put our people to work.

Reducing Ontario’s regulatory burden is an important part of our government’s plan because getting this right matters to families, businesses and Ontario’s bottom line. Our government created the Ministry of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction for this very purpose. The regulatory knot that was stifling economic growth in Ontario wasn’t tied overnight — untying it carefully and effectively will take time and persistence. As associate minister, I see it as job number one to bring regulatory relief to everyday people and the businesses they rely on to get ahead.

Building on our successes over the past year, The Better For People, Smarter For Business Act, 2019 is the latest in a series of red tape reduction measures that will continue to deliver meaningful results for Ontario — unburdening business, bringing new opportunities, and setting us up for success in years to come.

Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria
Associate Minister for Small Business and Red Tape Reduction