Browse regulations

Zoning for Wiarton Airport defines imaginary surfaces to protect airspace from obstructions, prohibiting structures above these heights and banning bird-attracting waste. Applies to lands within specified boundaries.

This regulation is an uncompensated taking of property rights that restricts land use across a large area, depressing property values and preventing mutually beneficial voluntary exchanges. Safety could be better achieved through liability rules, insurance, or market-based air rights acquisition, which would respect property rights and allocate resources efficiently. The unseen costs include lost economic development, reduced land supply, and the distortion of price signals that would otherwise guide optimal use.

These regulations establish height restrictions and land use prohibitions around Kingston Airport to ensure safe aviation operations. They define imaginary surfaces (approach, outer, transitional) extending from runways where no structures or objects may exceed specified elevations. The regulations also require removal of natural growth that violates these surfaces and prohibit waste disposal that could attract birds.

The externality of aircraft crashes causing mass casualties to innocent third parties justifies this narrowly-tailored restriction on property use. While it diminishes property rights, the safety benefits to passengers, crew, and people on the ground are substantial and cannot be fully internalized through liability alone. The regulation provides predictable, clear boundaries that efficiently balance the modest burden on landowners against preventing catastrophic loss of life.

Procedural rules for pre-hearing conferences in criminal matters before the Yukon Supreme Court, establishing judge-led discussions on disclosure, resolution, trial duration, and other case management issues to ensure fair, just, and expeditious trials.

Canadians would be worse off without these rules. They provide necessary structure to criminal case management, promoting efficiency, reducing delays, protecting accused rights through proper disclosure, and encouraging early resolution where appropriate. The minimal administrative burden is far outweighed by benefits to the justice system's effectiveness and fairness.

Mandatory levy on wood producers in the Gatineau Valley region for interprovincial and export trade, with rates based on multiple measurement units and enforced through producer or marketer collection to the regional Board.

Creates a direct barrier to interprovincial commerce, forcing producers to fund a board without consent while raising costs and distorting market competition. This entrenchment of compulsory collective funding violates liberty and property rights, and could shift sales toward intraprovincial markets to avoid the levy, reducing national market efficiency.

Exempts Voyageur Colonial Limited's acquisition of all shares in C.F. Kingsway Inc. from Part VII of the National Transportation Act, 1987.

Canadians would be worse off because the acquisition would face costly and time-consuming regulatory scrutiny under Part VII, potentially blocking a beneficial transaction that would improve transportation services and economic efficiency. The exemption achieves its goal of removing these barriers, which would be hard to accomplish without a special order.

This order exempts Groupe CSL Inc.'s acquisition of Fednav Limited's shares from Part VII of the National Transportation Act, 1987, effectively removing regulatory review requirements for this specific corporate transaction.

Regulatory exemptions for specific transactions create arbitrary advantages, distort market competition, and set precedents for regulatory capture. The exemption removes oversight without clear public benefit, potentially allowing anti-competitive consolidation while smaller companies remain subject to full regulatory burden.

Exempts 160900 Canada Inc. from Part VII of the National Transportation Act, 1987 for its acquisition of shares in Les Entreprises Voyageur Limitée, 146831 Canada Inc., and minority interests in ACE - Atlantic Container Express Inc., Atlantic Searoute Limited (Partnership), and North Water Navigation Ltd. from Groupe CSL Inc.

Creates a discriminatory regulatory carve-out that undermines competition and rule of law. This special exemption treats this transaction differently from identical ones, distorting market signals and creating uncertainty for other market participants who must abide by the same regulations. The exemption should be repealed and any transaction review should apply equally to all parties.

Requires members and employees of the RCMP External Review Committee to comply with security/confidentiality requirements and take an oath of secrecy regarding information acquired through their duties.

Canadians would be worse off without this regulation because unauthorized disclosure of RCMP-related information could compromise ongoing investigations, national security, and public trust in police oversight. The regulation achieves its desired outcome through a legally enforceable oath, which provides a clear deterrent and legal basis for accountability that internal policies alone might not sufficiently establish.

This Order establishes specific fees for services provided by the Office of the Registrar General of Canada, including certificates of authentication ($100), certificates of deposit ($100 first, $35 each additional), document copies ($1/page or $10/document), and certified copies ($35).

Fee-setting for government services is best handled administratively, not through formal regulation. This Order unnecessarily rigidifies pricing, creates amendment overhead for minor adjustments, and represents micromanagement that expands the regulatory state. The Registrar General should have flexibility to adjust fees based on actual costs, avoiding the knowledge problem and inefficiency of legislated prices.

Provides customs duty remission on denim fabrics imported from the US for Canadian apparel manufacturers, with volume-based calculations and eligibility conditions

Creates market distortions by favoring US imports over other sources, adds administrative complexity, and provides temporary relief that doesn't address underlying supply chain issues

Tariff remission for blouses/shirts imported by Canadian manufacturers meeting domestic fabric purchase thresholds (5-20%) between 1989-1997, with complex eligibility criteria and reporting requirements.

Creates inefficient supply chain distortions, raises consumer costs by mandating expensive domestic sourcing, imposes burdensome administration, and represents cronyist favoritism that misallocates capital away from comparative advantage.

The Cree-Naskapi Band Elections Regulations establish a comprehensive electoral framework for Cree and Naskapi bands in Quebec, detailing council composition, nomination procedures, polling logistics, ballot handling, vote counting, and penalties for electoral offenses. The regulations provide standardized procedures to ensure fair and orderly elections for band councils, including provisions for advance polls, travelling polls, recounts, and election challenges.

Deleting this regulation would undermine the democratic self-governance of Indigenous communities, stripping away the legal framework that ensures fair, transparent, and orderly elections. The regulation prevents electoral fraud, protects voting integrity, and provides procedural certainty—without it, communities would face increased risk of corruption, disputes, and undemocratic power consolidation. While detailed, these rules support liberty within the community by ensuring leaders are chosen through legitimate, peaceful processes rather than coercion or manipulation. The regulation enables self-determination, not external control, and its removal would harm the very communities it governs by creating chaos and opportunity for bad actors.

The RCMP External Review Committee Rules establish procedures for an external committee that reviews RCMP disciplinary grievances and appeals, providing independent oversight outside the chain of command with specific filing, hearing, and evidence protocols.

This external committee adds unnecessary bureaucracy, delays disciplinary processes, interferes with chain of command, and duplicates existing grievance mechanisms. The costs in time, resources, and reduced operational effectiveness outweigh any benefits from an additional review layer.

Marketing board regulation for PEI cattle establishing a Commodity Group with authority to regulate interprovincial/export trade, impose levies, classify producers, and manage collective funds for equalization and expenses.

Creates cartel-like structure restricting free market competition, imposes mandatory fees on producers, limits property rights in cattle disposal, raises consumer prices, and adds interprovincial trade barriers - economic costs exceed benefits to protected producers.

This regulation designates Quebec's insurance premium tax as a provincial tax for the purposes of the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements and Federal Post-Secondary Education and Health Contributions Act, 1977, ensuring its inclusion in fiscal transfer calculations.

Deletion would introduce legal uncertainty about Quebec's tax status under the Act, risking disruptions to federal-provincial fiscal transfers that fund health and education. The regulation provides clear, low-cost certainty, avoiding costly disputes or legislative amendment.