Tackling Red Tape in Saskatchewan
Dear Stakeholder:
Reducing red tape is one of the most important measures a government can take to help promote a healthy economy. A good regulatory environment helps Saskatchewan businesses innovate, grow and remain competitive. We are seeking your help in assisting our efforts to reduce red tape in Saskatchewan. Below are seven short questions for you to answer on the subject of red tape reduction.
Regulations are developed to ensure public health, safety, social well-being and environmental protection measures have the lowest impact to business and Saskatchewan residents. Regulations that go beyond their intended purpose create red tape, which may create burdensome requirements or impact economic competitiveness.
Saskatchewan’s business community consistently identifies red tape as a major barrier to business operation and growth. Approximately $764 million is lost each year as a result of municipal, provincial and federal red tape in Saskatchewan. At the provincial level, there are approximately 250,000 government compliance requirements that businesses and Saskatchewan residents are required to follow. Many of these requirements can be administered more efficiently, or in some cases could be eliminated altogether. Red tape is not always easy to define and isolate. Some examples of red tape include:
- Regulation that exceeds the benefit achieved from the regulation;
- Paperwork that is burdensome, unnecessary or ineffective;
- Rules that are unclear, confusing or overly complex;
- Approval or processing wait times that are excessive, unpublished or inconsistent;
- Rules that are outdated, not relevant, obsolete or not enforced;
- Rules that duplicate requirements, create gaps in service or conflict with other government agencies;
- Rules that rely too heavily on penalties as a deterrent, instead of creating incentives to change;
- Rules that are developed without using a risk management approach;
- There is no clear explanation or reason for the rule;
- Rules, requirements or government contact information is not easily accessible or available online, or may be out of date; and
- The issue can be better addressed by the private sector rather than through government regulation.
The Government of Saskatchewan is working to remove as much red tape as possible. Although red tape cannot be completely eliminated, it can be greatly reduced. This means reviewing every business-related regulation and removing all unnecessary compliance requirements. The Red Tape Reduction Committee (RTRC) is tasked with reviewing all business-related regulations at least once every 10 years to ensure they remain relevant and removing red tape when necessary. It is not intended to focus on identifying means to strengthen protectionary measures. Input received from stakeholders, such as yourself, is very important to this process.
Saskatchewan Crop Insurance is currently reviewing the Wildlife Damage Compensation Program policies, procedures and forms. We are interested in any ideas you may have for reducing red tape and regulatory barriers to producers across the province.
You will find a list of producer obligations, forms, terms and conditions as well as information guides at the following links:
https://www.scic.ca/wildlife/crop-compensation/
https://www.scic.ca/wildlife/predation-compensation/
https://www.scic.ca/wildlife/honey-bee-wildlife-compensation-program/
SCIC will be sending the survey to a number of producers who have interacted with the program. As an industry association we appreciate you may also want to seek producer feedback. We encourage you to do so and ask you limit it to 50 producers. If you choose to share the survey, please forward these links, along with the survey link (below). All surveys need to be completed by November 18. Please use the following link to access the survey:
https://www.surveymonkey.ca/r/JSTDQ5S
Thank you for your time!
Sincerely,
Shawn Jaques
President and CEO
Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation
Candian Agricultural Act program
Program Offerings
The Canadian Agricultural Loans Act (CALA) Program is a loan guarantee program designed to increase the availability of loans to farmers and agricultural co-operatives. Farmers can use these loans to establish, improve, and develop farms, while agricultural co-operatives may also access loans to process, distribute, or market the products of farming.
Under the CALA, the federal government guarantees, to the lender, repayment of 95% of a net loss on an eligible loan issued.
The maximum aggregate loan limit for any one farm operation is $500,000.
Loans are limited to a maximum of:
· $500,000 for the purchase of land and the construction or improvement of buildings
· $350,000 for all other loan purposes, including consolidation/refinancing
The maximum aggregate loan limit for agricultural co-operatives is $3 million, with the Minister's approval.
For example: If a farmer gets a CALA loan for $300,000 for a tractor, he can still access up to $200,000 for land purchase or building repair, or $50,000 for another implement and $150,000 for land purchase or building repair.
Eligibility
You can apply if you are one of the following:
· existing farmers
· beginning farmers (that is, less than 6 years of farming)
· start-up farmers
· farmers taking over the family farm
· part-time farmers
· agricultural co-operatives with a majority (50% + 1) farmer membership