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Wednesday, March 9, 2016
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VOL. 102 NO. 52
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Helping the SPCA St. Ann’s Grade 1/2 class donated pet food, pet toys and other pet supplies to the SPCA as part of St. Ann’s Corporal Works of Mercy Program. Contributed photo
MLA Oakes announces red tape reduction action The B.C. government is reducing unnecessary requirements and committing to more than 60 actions to reduce red tape and improve service delivery, making it easier for British Columbians to access government services. Coralee Oakes, Minister for Small Business and Red Tape Reduction, this week announced actions in a new report on a public engagement process that concluded in December. “British Columbians gave us their ideas to re-
duce red tape and we have listened. Now, we are releasing our plan to take action on those ideas,” Oakes said, also the MLA for Cariboo North. “Over the next year, people will see improvements to several government services – small changes that make their lives easier. For example, we heard from Becky in the Cariboo and are exploring options with ICBC to allow customers to renew their insurance online through their brokers.”
In addition, Oakes led a cross-government effort to repeal 37 outdated or unnecessary regulations to make it easier for people to comply with provincial requirements. For example, consolidating the requirements around wills into a single act, the Wills, Estates and Succession Act. This act helps clarify the process for distributing estates where there is no will and allows the court to recognize a document as a will even if it does not meet all the
usual standards. “British Columbians gave us their ideas to reduce red tape and our government has listened. Now, we are releasing our plan to take action on those ideas,” Oakes said. Quick facts: • In 2015, the provincial government held a sixweek online consultation on reducing red tape for British Columbians. More than 5,900 people visited the engagement site. • The provincial government received more than
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400 ideas, including 284 ideas through the public engagement and more than 120 ideas from stakeholders. • The B.C. government is a leader in red tape reduction. For the fifth year in a row B.C. received an ‘A’ grade from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business – the only province to receive an ‘A’. • Making it easier for people to register their decision on organ donation by including it at Service BC has significantly
increased the number of British Columbians who have registered. • Moving the Special Occasion Licence program online has made it easier for not-for-profit organizations to get the licences they need. • By removing the red tape around driver credentials the provincial government has streamlined the process for people moving from military to civilian life and opened up employment options for members.