Browse regulations

Remission of customs duties and sales tax on ballet shoes for specific dance schools and companies from 1970-1988

Special tax breaks create market distortions and favoritism, setting a precedent for politically-connected groups to receive regulatory carve-outs while others pay full duties, ultimately increasing compliance costs and complexity for all businesses

Remission order granting tax exemption on imported advertising materials (catalogues, price-lists, trade notices) for foreign suppliers promoting goods/services offered for sale/rental, transport, or commercial insurance, with weight and single-document limitations.

Maintaining this tax remission helps Canadian businesses access cost-effective marketing materials from foreign suppliers, supporting competitive pricing and market information flow. Without it, Canadian importers would face higher costs for legitimate advertising materials, potentially reducing consumer choice and market efficiency.

Authorizes the Minister of National Defence to transfer academic hoods to recipients of honorary degrees conferred by the Royal Military College of Canada.

Ceremonial regulation imposing zero practical burden; keeping it perpetuates unnecessary government authorization for trivial matters and contributes to regulatory accumulation with no benefit to Canadians' liberty or prosperity.

Authorizes the Minister of National Defence to gratuitously transfer military technical, training, and information films (valued up to $1,000) to NATO and Commonwealth military forces when deemed in the public interest.

Canadians would be worse off if deleted because it would hinder efficient sharing of military training materials with allies, reducing interoperability and collective defense; it achieves its outcome through a simple authorization with a public interest safeguard and low value limit, avoiding the need for ad hoc approvals.

Delegation order authorizing the Treasury Board to exercise Governor in Council powers under various statutory provisions, including the Canadian Wheat Board Act, Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation Act, Diplomatic Service (Special) Superannuation Act, Government Companies Operation Act, Public Service Employment Act, and numerous historical Appropriation Votes from 1943-1966.

Deleting this delegation mechanism would create administrative paralysis and legal uncertainty for government operations that have relied on this delegated authority structure for decades. While not a substantive regulation restricting liberty, its repeal would require either the Governor in Council to personally exercise all these powers (creating bottlenecks) or a complete reorganization of delegated authority. The order itself merely clarifies existing delegation; keeping it maintains administrative continuity without adding new burdens on Canadians.

Regulation establishes modest fees ($0.75 per search, $0.75 per certification, $3.00 per reproduction) for customs document services provided by Department of National Revenue to importers/exporters, with waiver for foreign government requests.

Fair user-pay principle: those who request and benefit from document services bear the administrative costs. Deletion would force general taxpayers to subsidize specific commercial actors, creating an inefficient cross-subsidy. Minimal burden, transparent pricing, no evidence of market distortion or barrier creation.

Authorizes the Minister of National Defence to sell defence materiel or services to the United Nations at cost, with interdepartmental consultation required for major requests and annual reporting to Treasury Board for transactions over $5,000.

Imposes unnecessary administrative costs (consultation, reporting) that delay transactions and create bottlenecks. The 'cost to the public' pricing prevents market-based resource allocation, and the special authorization duplicates general government disposal authority. These inefficiencies burden taxpayers without clear benefits.

Regulation establishes procedures for managing Revenue Trust Accounts—accounts at financial institutions holding money paid to public officers that is not public money. It covers deposit handling, repayment requirements when purposes are fulfilled or unfulfilled, and processes for refunds or transfers to the Receiver General.

This regulation protects private property rights by ensuring government does not arbitrarily retain citizens' deposits when services are unrendered or no longer needed. Without these clear rules, individuals face increased risk of having their funds withheld by public officers, undermining accountability and creating arbitrary power imbalances in government-citizen financial interactions.

A 1985-revoked order authorizing the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development to issue licenses for using federal canals for telegraph/telephone/power lines, boathouses, mooring, water withdrawal, and effluent discharge, with rentals determined at the minister's discretion.

Already repealed in 1985 (SOR/85-911). Even if active, it centralized control over canal access through bureaucratic licensing rather than market mechanisms, restricting voluntary exchange and creating government discretion that could limit supply of infrastructure use.

Authorizes the Minister of National Defence to provide materiel, services, and money to foreign naval ships from Commonwealth, US, NATO, and other nations on approved visits, and to merchant ships in distress, all on a repayment basis with caps ($1M US, $50K others) and reciprocal cash advance requirements.

Government provision of commercial maritime services crowds out private enterprise, distorts market pricing through artificial cost assessments, creates bureaucratic overhead, and misallocates resources away from core defense functions. Allied port access and distress assistance can be efficiently handled by private contracts, insurance, and market mechanisms without expanding state scope.

Regulation governing the transfer of government-purchased Canadian-made gifts (official mementos) to foreign officials and military personnel by Department of National Defence staff, with approval hierarchies and value limits ($75-$200).

The regulation imposes unnecessary bureaucratic formalities on low-value diplomatic gifts, creating compliance costs and rigid value thresholds that require periodic amendment. These administrative burdens contribute to Canada's cumulative regulatory environment that stifles agility and increases overhead across government operations.

Authorizes the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development to prescribe fees for microfilm copies of geological, geophysical, and well-history data submitted under Canada Oil and Gas Land Regulations.

Creates unnecessary bureaucratic layer for fee-setting on publicly-submitted data that should be freely accessible to promote energy exploration and reduce transaction costs in resource development.

Authorizes the Minister of Agriculture to prescribe fees for dairy milk inspection and livestock performance testing services.

Government monopoly on inspection and testing stifles private certification markets, imposes uniform standards that ignore buyer preferences, and adds costs to production. These fees act as a tax on agriculture that reduces competitiveness and discourages supply, contrary to principles of economic liberty.

The Loaning of Purebred Sires Regulations authorize the federal government to loan purebred boars, bulls, and rams to approved farmer associations for breeding, impose detailed care and liability conditions, cover transportation costs to shipping points, and allow exchanges, with loan periods up to six years.

The regulation uses taxpayer money to subsidize a service the private market can provide efficiently, distorting incentives and creating moral hazard. Administrative overhead of applications, Director approvals, caretaker oversight, and reporting diverts resources from productive agriculture, while government involvement crowds out private breeding cooperatives and price-based allocation of high-quality sires.

This order authorizes the Minister of National Defence to lend defence equipment to Canadian defence contractors to help them fulfill foreign military contracts, with conditions that the equipment is not needed for defence and can be recalled, administered by Supply and Services at no cost to the Crown.

This regulation represents harmful industrial policy that distorts market competition by providing government-subsidized equipment to select contractors. It creates moral hazard, misallocates resources, and risks equipment not being available for actual defence needs. The 'no cost to Crown' claim ignores significant unseen costs: administrative overhead, opportunity costs, potential abuse, and reduced market discipline. Canadian contractors should compete on their own merits without government handouts, and defence equipment should only be used for defence purposes.