The Growth of Regulation

In spite of the rhetoric favouring deregulation and the need for smarter regulations, the period between 1975 and 1997 has seen a growth in regulations as tables 1 to 10 illustrate.¹⁶ Over the last two decades, the appetite for more regulation has not subsided at the federal or provincial levels. On average, federal and provincial governments in Canada have passed 4,075 regulations each year over the last 23 years.¹⁷ In addition, regulations appear to be more detailed as is evident from the increase in the number of pages they consume in government documents.¹⁸

The Scope of Regulation

All economic and social activity in modern societies takes place in a framework of general laws and regulations. Framework laws are important because they facilitate commerce. Framework laws include legislation dealing with competition policy, bankruptcy, corporation law, and intellectual and private property rights.¹⁹ In Canada, however, the growth of regulations has far surpassed framework laws and has become all-encompassing. The following tables give an idea of the magnitude and scope of regulatory activity by government.

Assessing the Economic Impact of Regulation

During the last two decades, increased attention has been devoted to studying the cost of government regulation to the economy. The attention directed to this issue has been based on studies conducted by economists in the US such as Professor Murray Wiedenbaum and others in the 1970s, and by Professor Thomas Hopkins, amongst others, in the 1990s.²⁰ In Canada, concern has been growing since the 1970s over the potential cost of regulation. This issue was addressed by the Economic Council of Canada in a comprehensive study on government regulation.²¹ Regulations have a considerable impact, measured in both economic and non-economic terms, on both those who are directly subject to them, and on third parties.