Related Initiatives and Planning Processes

Deregulation and Regulatory Reform

On June 5, 2001, the government made a commitment to reduce the regulatory burden by 1/3 within three years. The Ministry of Finance has completed several major legislative and regulatory reviews that reduced regulatory burden and decreased the associated regulatory requirement count by approximately 39 per cent in three years (25,423 as at June 2004). The ministry’s success was mainly attributable to implementation of a new Business Corporations Act, providing for electronic filing at the Personal Property Registry, eliminating unnecessary requirements under the Financial Institutions Act and Credit Union Incorporation Act, and developing a more effective framework for government’s financial management policies and procedures.

The ministry is committed to maintaining a zero net increase in regulatory requirements through 2008/09 over the June 2004 baseline, and continuing to identify further regulatory reduction and regulatory reform opportunities. This commitment is evidenced by the implementation of the Real Estate Services Act and Real Estate Development Marketing Act on January 1, 2005 resulting in a further four per cent reduction in regulatory requirements, totalling 43 per cent as at March 31, 2005.

Over the next three years, all legislative initiatives will be monitored to ensure that the policies are effective and allow industry, the public, and government to operate in an improved environment of “smart regulation”.

Information Resource Management Plan

An overview of the ministry’s Information Resource Management Plan is available on the ministry website at:
http://www.fin.gov.bc.ca/serviceplan/2006-07/IRMP.htm.

Citizen-Centred Service Delivery

The ministry supports the achievement of the five great goals by focusing on citizen-centred service delivery. The ministry provides services indirectly to the public by developing regulatory and governance frameworks for the provincial public sector to ensure that services provided are easily accessible and responsive to the needs of British Columbian citizens. The ministry provides services directly to the public through the following:

• E-Commerce provides convenient and efficient banking services.
• Electronic Registry Services facilitate and support commerce in a cost-effective manner.
• Ministry of Finance website informs citizens of the services and publications provided by the ministry.

Please visit the website, http://www.gov.bc.ca/fin, for more information on the above.