Reducing government business forms makes it easier for small businesses to prosper in Ontario

Spending less time on paperwork and filling out fewer forms means more time for small businesses to create jobs and contribute to Ontario’s prosperity.

The Paper Burden Reduction Initiative fulfills a 2005 Throne Speech commitment that the Small Business Agency of Ontario (SBAO) would “reduce the paperwork and regulatory burden small businesses face when they interact with government.” The Ministry of Small Business and Entrepreneurship is working with the Ministry of Government Services and SBAO to eliminate unnecessary government business forms and to make the remaining forms user-friendly and electronically accessible.

Phase 1 of the paper burden reduction initiative focussed on business forms from seven key business ministries: Economic Development and Trade, Environment, Government Services, Labour, Finance, Northern Development and Mines, and Transportation.

On May 29, 2007, Minister of Small Business and Entrepreneurship Harinder Takhar announced the results of this first phase of the project. Over the past year:

• 24 per cent of business forms in seven key ministries have been eliminated; and,
• more than double the number of business forms have been made available electronically on the government’s central forms repository.

The government has commenced work on Phase 2 of the project, which will focus on business forms in an additional eight ministries. Phase 3, which will start in 2008, will address the remaining ministries’ business forms.

The government has also approved new standards of efficiency to limit the creation of any new government business forms.

How to access the government’s central forms repository:

To obtain electronically accessible government forms, you can visit the OPS central forms repository.