WINNIPEG - FEBRUARY 17, 2005 - The Mayor's Red Tape Commission today released an Introductory Report with recommendations to "prevent future red tape." In the Report, the Commission outlines a "permanent structure of red tape control and reduction," designed to keep fighting red tape long after the Commission files its final report in June.

Recommendation 1 features common-sense guidelines and principles to use when developing regulations in the future. These guidelines are now being used by the Commission to help develop recommendations on existing red tape.

Recommendation 2 calls on the City to reorganize and publish its by-laws in a more user-friendly manner, in a single electronic Code of Current By-laws that would always be up to date, reducing the uncertainty of by-law compliance.

Recommendation 3 uses the results of Recommendation 2 to start a long term process of counting, 'budgeting' and tracking existing red tape, so it would be easy to isolate pointless or redundant regulations over time.

Recommendation 4 calls on City Hall to improve the collection of stakeholder and impact data for its "report information system" so that councillors have a clearer idea of what red tape already exists for a particular business sector before making decisions on new red tape requirements.

"The challenge of preventing red tape is distinct from the challenge of cutting the red tape that already exists," said Councillor Franco Magnifico (St. Boniface), who chairs the Commission. "So we've released this initial set of ideas early in the hope that City Hall can get to work on that problem. Meanwhile, we've already turned our attention to red tape that actually exists in City Hall today." Magnifico expects that the final report – due early this summer – "could contain dozens of suggestions on everything from how you buy a license to how a staff member answers phone calls," he said.

The Commission includes Councillor Magnifico and eight citizen members. Appointed directly by the Mayor in November to fulfill his commitment to reduce red tape, it was charged with a broad mandate to search for ideas to improve customer service at City Hall.