We’ve waited years for real regulatory reform. Now it’s finally on the table. The question is: will we act fast enough to make it count?

Let’s be honest. Too many Canadian businesses, especially in food, health, and consumer products, have been operating under outdated, disconnected, and restrictive regulation. It’s a patchwork that punishes productivity, stifles innovation, and pulls us back when the world is pushing forward.

Now, under Prime Minister Carney, the government is finally moving. We’ve launched a Red Tape Reduction Office. The One Canadian Economy Act is signed. Permitting timelines are getting relief, and interprovincial coordination is trending up.

The wheels are turning. Now it’s time to hit the gas.

In our global economy, delay is the competition’s advantage. Other nations are sprinting past us, securing investment, nurturing innovation, and strengthening their supply chains. Direction without acceleration is just talk.

Every day, our members are ready to scale up, invest in production, hire Canadians, and innovate. But they’re still held back by regulatory systems that don’t reflect modern realities.

What needs to happen now is clear.

1. Make economics a mandatory filter for every regulation. This isn’t about sacrificing standards. It’s about smart policy. Every rule must be measured for its impact on innovation, investment, and competitiveness. The UK’s Growth Duty is a blueprint. We need it now.


2. Tear down internal trade barriers. I’ve said it before. It can be easier to sell across borders than across provinces. Inconsistent trucking rules, drug scheduling mismatches, and regulatory fragmentation stall supply chains and drive up costs.


3. Modernize outdated frameworks fast. Rules governing non-prescription drugs, specialty nutrition, and more are graduates of another time. Canadians deserve timely access to products, not delays rooted in bureaucratic antiquity.


4. Build environmental policy on clarity, not complexity. Our support for a circular economy isn’t empty rhetoric. But the Federal Plastics Registry, as it stands, duplicates effort and adds cost without improving outcomes. Align it with provincial systems and focus on meaningful data.


5. Harmonize infrastructure and logistics regulation nationally. Provincial fragmentation in trucking and permitting hits us all, manufacturers, transporters, and consumers. Harmonization here is one of the fastest, lowest-effort moves for national competitiveness.

This government has earned momentum, and it should. But if reform stops at promise without delivery, it’s just another box checked, not change.

While we talk, other countries act. If Canada wants to attract capital, build supply resiliency, and deliver affordability, we need to match their speed.

At FHCP, we’re not just watching. We’re at the table, ready to execute. Belief in our sector’s strength is one thing. But belief without action changes nothing.

This op-ed was originally published on LinkedIn.