Tories hint bill aimed at removing red tape for business coming this week

OTTAWA – The federal Conservatives are hinting they’ll table legislation later this week aimed at removing outdated regulations that hobble businesses.

The Tories have promised to enshrine in law an internal rule they put in place in 2012 that requires the government to remove one regulation for every new one added.

Treasury Board president Tony Clement suggests that bill could be introduced this week.

He says there has been progress in cutting red tape, saving small businesses $20 million in administrative costs by scrapping 19 regulations.

Clement says the government is studying a system that would look at new regulations in terms of how much time and money they will cost business.

For every new rule, the government would have a deadline to remove another that either meets or exceeds those costs.

But Clement says new regulations dealing with health and safety wouldn’t be included in the one-for-one rule.