What Provinces Have Achieved in 20 Years of Cutting Red Tape

As part of its red tape reduction efforts, Nova Scotia has reduced doctors’ administrative burdens so much that they are now available for 600,000 more patient visits annually. The biggest time-waster was writing sick notes, so the province said employers can’t require sick notes for the first two short-term illnesses of the year—those with absences five days or less. It’s a strong example of how impactful cutting red tape can be, says economist Laura Jones, who helped kickstart initiatives to cut red tape in Canada, which she says began in earnest a little over 20 years ago. She recalled some of the “ridiculous” regulations at the time. British Columbia, for example, had rules dictating how big televisions in restaurants should be or what size nails must be used in building a bridge over a small stream....