Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I find this an exceptionally bright day today. I would like to read a newspaper article which my fellow Members may wish to consider for our government.
Despite years of effort, business has had only modest success in convincing government to reduce the regulatory burden.
It is a burden that is especially onerous on small businesses that don't have large administrative resources to cope with government regulations.
But even for major employers, regulatory compliance adds significantly to costs.
There was hope of an important breakthrough in cutting federal government regulation with the introduction of the Regulatory Efficiency Act, but it remains stalled in the House of Commons.
One of the most encouraging examples of what can and should be done to unwind the red tape strangling businesses is the action of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.
As noted in the Post's Special Report on Small Business, in February, in its 1992 budget, Newfoundland eliminated 171 fees for licences; from the $10 fee for a birth certification, to the $25 fee for renewing a waste management certification to a $15,000 fee for selling a high-volume of gasoline wholesale.
What should be carefully reported by all governments is that these changes cost Newfoundland $2 million in lost revenue, but it has saved $3 million in administrative and collection fees.
Newfoundland now plans to scrap up to 50 per cent of all existing regulations and paper burdens on small business.
So what we have here is the best of all possible worlds: The government saves money by reducing administrative costs, and will further benefit by collecting more tax revenue from businesses that are more profitable and new start-ups are encouraged."
I would like to suggest to the Premier that after he forms the Special Advisory Committee on the Economy, as he has talked about earlier in this House, this is exactly the type of recommendation that the committee will be making to him. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
--- Applause