Browse regulations

This Order grants remission (refund) of customs duties to 25 specific clothing/apparel companies listed in Schedule 1, because the Canada Border Services Agency erroneously issued remission authorizations during administration of earlier remission orders between 2008-2012. It's a corrective measure for government mistakes, applying only to imports from 2008-2012 with applications filed by deadlines in Schedule 2.

Deleting this would perpetuate injustice by denying companies refunds they were erroneously but legitimately promised due to government errors. The Order merely corrects past administrative mistakes without creating new distortions or barriers to trade. It does not suppress competition or restrict supply; it restores property rights by returning wrongly collected duties.

Designates Prince Edward Island for payday lending regulations, allowing provincial payday loans act to take effect.

Provincial payday lending regulation provides consumer protection against predatory lending practices, ensuring transparency and fair terms for vulnerable borrowers who might otherwise face exploitative interest rates.

Mandates minimum weekly grain transportation volumes for Canadian National Railway Company and Canadian Pacific Railway Company during specific periods in late 2014/early 2015, with different tonnage requirements for each week.

This top-down quota system distorts market incentives, prevents efficient resource allocation based on actual demand, and creates artificial bottlenecks that raise costs for farmers and consumers. The railway companies' ability to optimize operations is compromised by arbitrary government-mandated volumes that don't reflect real-time market conditions.

This regulation establishes comprehensive safety standards for railway-road grade crossings in Canada, covering sightlines, signage, warning systems, design, and construction. It applies to both public and private crossings with requirements varying based on traffic volume, train speed, and crossing type. The regulation imposes obligations on railway companies and road authorities, mandates information sharing, and references detailed external standards.

The regulation imposes significant compliance costs, stifles innovation through prescriptive one-size-fits-all standards, and prevents locally-optimal safety solutions. Its detailed technical specifications assume centralized knowledge impossible for regulators to possess, leading to wasteful resource allocation and increased transportation costs. The administrative burden and rigidity outweigh marginal safety benefits that could be achieved through market-driven, liability-based, or voluntarily negotiated arrangements.

Temporary customs duty and GST/HST relief for 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games, covering equipment, vehicles, and low-value goods for organizers, athletes, media, and sponsors.

Special interest carve-outs create unequal treatment, distort market signals, and set precedent for future exemptions. The underlying principle of equal application of tax law is more important than temporary event-specific relief.

These regulations establish procedural rules for emergency protection orders under the Family Homes on Reserves and Matrimonial Interests or Rights Act, specifically for cases involving family violence on First Nations reserves. They govern how applications are made (in person or by telecommunication), requirements for third-party applicants, confidentiality protections for safety, hearing procedures, evidence standards, 24-hour decision deadlines, and service of orders including substituted service methods.

Deleting this regulation would eliminate the only procedural framework for victims of family violence on reserves to obtain emergency protection within 24 hours, directly endangering vulnerable individuals. The regulation's minimal administrative costs are vastly outweighed by its life-preserving function; without it, victims would face unacceptable delays and uncertainty in accessing urgent protection from abuse. The procedural safeguards—confidentiality orders, flexible hearing formats, and mandated quick decisions—are essential to achieving the Act's humanitarian purpose in a manner that would be difficult to replicate without codified rules.

Federal order exempting Nova Scotia from the Reduction of Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Coal-fired Generation of Electricity Regulations, effective July 1, 2015.

Deleting this exemption would subject Nova Scotia to uniform emissions standards, significantly raising electricity costs and reducing supply reliability. The province's heavy reliance on coal and limited alternative capacity make compliance disproportionately burdensome, harming affordability and economic competitiveness without commensurate environmental benefit.

Regulation establishes administrative procedures for obtaining railway operating certificates, requiring applications with detailed safety rules, management systems, and executive attestations. It mandates compliance with or equivalence to Canadian Rail Operating Rules, plus specific rules on fatigue, medical fitness, qualifications, and equipment standards depending on operations.

This regulation imposes centralized bureaucratic control over railway safety through prescriptive rules and ministerial approval, creating barriers to entry, reducing operational flexibility, and increasing compliance costs. Safety is better achieved through market incentives, liability, insurance requirements, and private certification systems that allow innovation and adaptation to specific operational contexts. The one-size-fits-all approach stifles competition and assumes government knowledge superior to industry experience, violating the principle that wealth is created by liberty and private property.

This regulation establishes the framework for federal apprentice loans in Canada, including definitions, eligibility criteria, maximum loan amounts ($4,000 per training period, $1.5B aggregate), payment-deferred periods, repayment assistance programs, and conditions for loan denial or renewal. The program provides government-subsidized financing to apprentices in eligible trades with various hardship provisions and administrative requirements.

Government lending distorts credit markets, creates moral hazard, and exposes taxpayers to default risk. Private lenders would allocate capital more efficiently based on commercial risk assessment rather than political criteria. The complex regulatory overhead and subsidy effect crowd out genuine private sector financing solutions for apprentices.

Regulation prohibits manufacture/import of mercury-containing products with numerous exemptions and a permit system for essential uses. Requires labeling, reporting, and record-keeping to manage mercury's environmental and health risks.

Mercury is a potent neurotoxin with cumulative environmental effects that constitute a genuine market failure. The regulation's phased approach with exemptions for essential uses and a permit system balances environmental protection with economic necessity. Deletion would expose Canadians to increased mercury contamination risks that cannot be adequately addressed through tort law alone due to high transaction costs and diffuse harms.

Regulation permits RCMP to hire casual workers beyond the standard 90-day annual limit for major investigations, major events, or operations when unforeseen circumstances require extended services or specialized skills.

Canadians would be worse off if this flexibility was removed because it would impair the RCMP's ability to swiftly deploy and retain skilled personnel for unpredictable, high-stakes operations such as major crime investigations, international summits, or emergency responses. The exemption balances operational needs with accountability by limiting use to unforeseen circumstances with uncertain duration or skill requirements.

This regulation implements economic sanctions against individuals in South Sudan, listing designated persons and prohibiting Canadians from dealing with their property or providing financial services. It includes exemptions for pensions, diplomatic missions, humanitarian organizations, and legal services, and establishes procedures for designated persons to apply for removal from the list.

These targeted sanctions create regulatory compliance burdens on Canadian financial institutions and individuals while likely having minimal impact on the designated persons' activities. The regulation interferes with voluntary transactions and property rights, imposes monitoring costs on banks and businesses, and creates a complex compliance framework that may deter legitimate international commerce. The humanitarian exemptions suggest the sanctions are more symbolic than effective, while the compliance costs and restrictions on Canadian citizens and businesses are real and immediate.

Repeals the Laurentian Pilotage Authority District No. 3 Regulations, removing pilotage requirements for that specific district.

Eliminates unnecessary regulatory burden on shipping operations in District No. 3, reducing costs for maritime commerce without compromising safety or navigation standards.

This regulation implements an administrative penalty system under the Railway Safety Act. It designates specific provisions from the Act, its regulations, and related instruments (orders, rules, emergency directives) as violations subject to monetary penalties rather than criminal prosecution. Maximum fines range from $25,000 to $250,000 for individuals and corporations depending on violation type, and it prescribes the enforcement officer certificate form.

It reduces due process protections by enabling administrative penalties with lower procedural safeguards than criminal prosecution, creates a government revenue incentive from fines, and adds bureaucratic complexity. Railway safety is better achieved through tort liability and criminal negligence laws, which provide stronger procedural rights, avoid centralized penalty-setting distortion, and prevent over-enforcement of technical violations that may not meaningfully improve safety.

Customs duty remission for apparel and fabric goods from Honduras under Canada-Honduras FTA, subject to annual quantitative limits and certification requirements

Creates administrative costs, artificial trade restrictions via quotas, and compliance burdens that distort market signals and benefit bureaucrats over consumers and exporters