An intelligent law? Yes, such a thing exists!

Sélectionnez une archiveLettres d'opinion 2012Lettres d'opinion 2011Lettres d'opinion 2010Lettres d'opinion 2009Lettres d'opinion 2008Lettres d'opinion 2007Lettres d'opinion 2006Lettres d'opinion 2005Op-ed by Yves-Thomas Dorval, president of the Quebec Employers Council
The Sherbrooke Record, November 4, 2011, p. 6

Nowadays, the different levels of government intervene in the lives of every individual and organization on a daily basis. Far be it for us to reopen the debate here today on the relevance of the government's presence in the various spheres of society. It is indeed commendable that a reasonable amount of laws and regulations structure human activity, to a certain extent, because they allow us to set clear and fair guideposts for everyone in an effort to facilitate mass organization and maintain a certain social order.

In its 2011 Report Card on Quebec Prosperity, the Quebec Employers Council noted the weight of the regulatory and administrative burden supported by Quebec businesses, which produce an average of 29 documents per year, compared to 23 in Ontario, 25 in the Prairie provinces and 26 in British Columbia. Well aware of this fact with which employers were faced, the Quebec and federal government both introduced initiatives in January, 2011, aimed at revising, lightening and simplifying businesses' regulatory and administrative paperwork.

Yet, over and above the amount of laws and regulations adopted by governments, they still needed to be crafted and applied in an intelligent manner, so they were results-oriented rather than aimed at the means and processes. In the area of occupational health and safety, for example, the primary objective of the current system in Quebec should be the fostering of workers' health and safety. Unfortunately, the laws governing it are too often focused on the sometimes finicky processes which, instead of striving to improve occupational health and safety, only further weigh down employers' administrative and regulatory burden by requiring, among other things, that a standard set of regulations be implemented, without taking the context of each business into consideration.

Fortunately, other examples show that laws and regulations can be implemented in conjunction with specific objectives. Take, for example, the Law favouring the development of workforce training in Quebec. Also known as the "job skills law", it requires employers whose payroll exceeds $1 million to annually invest at least 1% of this payroll in training their workers (and thus in their company's productivity and competiveness). Otherwise, this percentage has to be paid in the form of tax.

The government has even improved the law since 2007 by adding a clause on the exemption, which allows employers to be relieved of some of the administrative and tax paperwork related to the law if they obtain a certificate attesting to the quality of their training initiatives (CQIF). This certificate, issued by the Commission des partenaires du marché du travail, allows a company a three-year exemption from certain provisions relating to the 1% law if the firm implements a continuous job skills development plan, in collaboration with its employees. Employers that obtain the CQIF certificate accomplish two things in one fell swoop: they invest in their employees' training and productivity while significantly reducing the overload of paperwork they have to produce every year.

Clearly, the challenge for the various levels of government over the next few years will be to adapt the regulations so that Quebec can remain competitive in this area compared to its immediate neighbours, and thereby attract more investments that will contribute to the prosperity of society as a whole.

For more information about the CQIF certificate, please go to the Emploi-Québec website. The Quebec Employers Council, in collaboration with the Commission des partenaires du marché du travail, will be providing a number of information sessions about the certificate over the next few months.