The government of Langford, British Columbia, received last week the 2014 Golden Scissors Award for its initiative to make business licenses permanent. The award was presented to Stew Young, mayor of Langford, by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) as part of Red Tape Awareness Week.
The city’s initiative ensures that all business licenses it issues will remain in effect until a major change, such as relocation, occurs. The initiative will save the government $40,000 in administrative costs per year.
“It’s such a simple thing, but it makes so much sense – there’s no reason why other cities across Canada can’t do the very same thing tomorrow,” said Laura Jones, CFIB’s executive vice president. “In fact, that’s exactly what CFIB is calling on them to do.”
Langford was selected to receive the award by a panel of CFIB employees, from a pool of candidates from across the country.
The panel also selected three runners-up.
Jean Saint-Gelais, Secretary General of the Conseil executive for the government of Quebec, was recognized for his leadership in implementing 63 recommendations from the Red Tape Action Plan, resulting in a cost reduction of $140 million.
Jean-Pierre Lamarche, director general for the Passport Program Management and Strategic Initiatives, and the ePassport team from Passport Canada were recognized for their work in implementing a 10-year passport instead of the traditional five.
Tony Clement, President of the Treasury Board, was also recognized for his work with the federal Red Tape Reduction Commission, which has resulted in an $18 million reduction in the regulatory burden on businesses.
