Editing Red tape (section)

==Red tape reduction initiatives==
It can be difficult to distinguish between justified regulatory costs and unneeded regulations.  For this reason, the expression "cutting red tape" has been used to refer to both initiatives to reduce ''unnecessary'' regulation, and to policies to reduce the overall regulatory burden.<ref name=Jones/> 

Canada's ''Red Tape Reduction Act'' of 2015 implemented a one-for-one rule that requires the removal of a regulation each time regulators impose a new administrative burden on business.<ref name=RTRA>{{cite web | title=Red Tape Reduction Act | author=Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Government of Canada | url= https://www.canada.ca/en/government/system/laws/developing-improving-...eral-regulations/modernizing-regulations/red-tape-reduction-act.html | date=22 December 2022 }}</ref>
Nevertheless, while ''Regulations'' decreased from 684 to 605 between 2014 and 2023, regulatory ''Requirements'' increased from 129,860 to 149,401.<ref name=Falcon/><ref name=FRMI>{{cite web | url=https://www.canada.ca/en/treasury-board-secretariat/corporate/reports...024-fiscal-year-federal-regulatory-management-initiatives.html#toc10 | title=Appendix C: administrative burden count; Annual Report for the 2023 to 2024 Fiscal Year: Federal Regulatory Management Initiatives | author=Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Government of Canada }}</ref>
A more successful reduction in red tape took place in the province of [[British Columbia]], Canada, following a 2001 election promise to reduce the regulatory burden by 33%.<ref name=Jones>{{cite report | publisher=Mercatus Center, George Mason University | title=Cutting Red Tape in Canada: A Regulatory Reform Model for the United States? | url=https://www.mercatus.org/research/research-papers/cutting-red-tape-canada-regulatory-reform-model-united-states | first=Laura | last=Jones | date=11 November 2015 }}</ref> 
At the time, regulation was heavy, with rules imposed on, for example, the size of televisions in restaurants, the number of par-four holes at golf courses, and the maximum seating capacity of ski hill lounges.<ref name=Jones/>
After three years, a 37% reduction was achieved.  A central element of the program was a strong commitment from the minister responsible and the provincial premier.<ref name=Falcon>{{Cite web |date=2019-02-07 |title=How to reduce the regulatory burden: Gordon Campbell, the premier at the time, made sure all ministers were held accountable, through a process that could be described as cabinet peer pressure  |url=https://www.hilltimes.com/2019/02/07/reduce-regulatory-burden/187526 |access-date=2021-10-25 |website=The Hill Times |language=en-CA | first1=Mathieu | last1=Bedard | first2=Kevin | last2=Falcon }}</ref><ref name=Jones/>

In the United States, cutting red tape was a central principle of a 1993 [[National Performance Review]] study requested by the [[Presidency of Bill Clinton|Clinton Administration]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gore |first=Al |url=https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED384294 |title=From Red Tape to Results: Creating a Government That Works Better & Costs Less. Report of the National Performance Review |date=1993-09-10 |publisher=Education Resources Information Center |language=en}}</ref>
In November 2024, U.S. President-elect [[Donald Trump]] said [[Elon Musk]] and [[Vivek Ramaswamy]] would co-lead a new [[Department of Government Efficiency]] which would provide advice from outside government on methods to "slash excess regulations", among other objectives.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-says-elon-musk-vivek-ramaswamy-will-lead-department-government-efficiency-2024-11-13/  | title=Trump names Elon Musk to lead government efficiency drive | date=12 November 2024 | first=Daniel | last=Trotta | work=Reuters }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title=Trump gives Elon Musk mission to cut costs, slash red tape | work=The Globe and Mail | date=13 November 2024 | url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/video-trump-gives-elon-musk-mission-to-cut-costs-slash-red-tape/ }}</ref>