Red tape: Or how I learned to stop worrying and love deregulation

Deregulation – it’s synonymous with big business, right? It’s what leads to chemicals in water supplies, dangerous additives in food products and all manner of profit-maximizing tricks that have negative effects on consumers and the environment.But wait a sec – it’s not quite so simple, says Matthew Chiasson, a senior policy analyst at the Competition Bureau. While deregulation may indeed be a dirty word that is often tied to big companies getting their way, it doesn’t have to be. In fact, with complicated, voluminous red tape strangling small and medium businesses, it may be time to apply it in the name of the public good. It’s time for deregulation’s makeover.In a recent presentation at the annual Competition Summit in Ottawa, Chiasson took attendees on a cross-Canada tour of how excessive regulation is smothering competition and killing off entrepreneurialism. You can watch that presentation here.On this episode of Do Not Pass Go, he takes us through a few of those examples and explains how big companies are using regulation as a weapon to take out smaller competitors. With entrepreneurialism levels dropping dangerously, it’s time for Canada to cut the red tape.And be sure to check out the CBC short doc on how regulators waged war on Jamaican beef patties in Toronto in 1985.Do Not Pass Go is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Do Not Pass Go at www.donotpassgo.ca/subscribe