The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has been increasing costs and regulatory burden and heaping significant stress on the country’s small businesses between 2019 and 2024, revealed a new report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).
“The CFIA needs to modernize its regulatory approach and properly reflect the realities of running a small business,” said Juliette Nicolaÿ, CFIB’s policy analyst and the report’s author, in a news release.
According to the third edition of CFIB’s “CFIA Report Card: Assessing Regulatory Burden and Service Delivery,” among small business owners surveyed:
- 58 percent reported an increase in the regulatory burden associated with the CFIA from 2019–24, with the overall paperwork and frequent regulatory changes cited as the most significant issues
- 59 percent thought that the CFIA or governments insufficiently considered small and midsized enterprises (SMEs) when developing regulations
- 54 percent believed that the CFIA did not value their feedback
- 26 percent called the CFIA’s overall service poor, while 25 percent considered it good
The CFIB’s poll showed SMEs’ dissatisfaction with the CFIA’s quality of customer service. Specifically, respondents reported that:
- Digital tools fell short of their needs
- CFIA agents gave insufficient support
- There were often inconsistencies between inspections or inspectors
Recommendations
“Small business owners know the importance of food safety,” Nicolaÿ said in CFIB’s news release. “They want to comply with regulations but to do that, they need clear guidance and support. SMEs should not have to hire a lawyer or a consultant to help them understand and comply with food safety regulations.”
CFIB suggested the following steps for the CFIA to make it easier for small businesses to meet regulatory requirements:
- Expand the administrative burden baseline’s scope to cover legislation, policies, and guidelines
- Lower the fee level
- Introduce a ‘2 for 1’ rule to reduce the number of regulations
- Simplify the current regulations and guidance
- Provide transparent and proactive updates about regulatory adjustments
- Enhance customer service
- Ensure that resources and online tools are more user-friendly
- Support the internal trade of food products
“Small businesses are proud to deliver safe, high quality Canadian food,” said Christina Santini, CFIB’s director of national affairs, in the news release. “They’re not asking the CFIA to compromise safety standards; they’re asking for clearer and fairer rules that don’t punish them for being small.”
“The agency has taken some steps to try to address small business concerns, but much more work needs to be done,” Nicolaÿ said. “Now is the time to do it, especially with Ottawa’s commitment to reduce red tape across government.”
Santini looked forward to Canada delivering on its commitment to reduce red tape.