If we were to regulate intelligently, these numbers would surely be smaller. However, there would still be a considerable body of law. It is a fallacy that in an ideal world most government regulation should disappear. First, intelligent regulation establishes rules that promote efficiency in both the private and public sectors by reducing transaction costs, uncertainty and compliance costs. Second, such regulation is necessary to define and enforce property rights, the underpinnings of a competitive market economy that maximizes economic well-being.
Unintelligent regulation occurs in BC and elsewhere in Canada for two main reasons.
In general, they do not receive the same level of public scrutiny as do new statutes. GRIM stands for Government Regulatory Impact Multiplier. A good place to start is to change the process by which new regulations are created. But they would have to explain their reasons for doing so and make them public. This would focus accountability where it belongs-on the ministers who make the decision.