Report Red Tape
Open for business / red tape
Report Red Tape.
Every business owner in Ottawa has a red tape story. The permit that took four months. The form that asks for the same thing three times. The rule nobody at City Hall can explain.
Right now, there is nowhere to send that story.
In September, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business graded 66 Canadian municipalities on how they treat small business. Ottawa got a C-minus. Fifth place, one spot behind Toronto.
CFIB checked whether each city gives businesses a dedicated place to report red tape. Two do: Toronto and Red Deer. Red Deer is ranked first in the country. Ottawa scored zero.
It’s a start.
In June 2026, City Council modernized Ottawa’s business licensing rules. It consolidated licence categories and removed duplicate steps. Festival vendors can now get a low-cost one-day licence. All-night dance events no longer need a separate licence and fee for every event. An online one-stop shop for licences is promised by the end of the year.
That is real work, and Alex Lawson gives Council credit for it.
It is also a start. Licensing is one corner of City Hall. And a business that hits a wall on signs, patios, inspections or permits still has nowhere to report it.
The plan: nine commitments
An online form on ottawa.ca and a 311 option, in English and French. It takes two minutes to report what happened, which department, and what it cost in time or money.
Each report is acknowledged within five business days, with a named staff contact. Reports about the same rule are grouped, so staff answer the issue once instead of the same complaint 40 times. The public tracker shows how long every issue has been open, and the quarterly report to Council names any issue still open after 90 days.
Every report, its status and its outcome are posted online, with business names removed. If 40 restaurants hit the same patio rule, everyone can see it.
The report lists the top ten complaints and what changed. Rules that need a vote go to Council with a recommendation.
The audit starts with licensing, sign permits, patios and A-frame signs, then moves to whatever the portal flags.
No new business requirement goes ahead without a cost estimate and a review date.
Cut the number of permits it takes to open a restaurant, a shop or a home-based contracting business, measured against CFIB’s three test cases. The count is published before and after.
Tax rates, licensing steps and fees each get one plain page. Nobody should have to read a by-law to find out what they owe.
Every year, Alex will ask the Auditor General to audit two City departments for value for money and report before the budget. Departments that can’t show results get reviewed first.
Toronto built one. Red Deer built one.
CFIB weighs a dedicated red tape channel at a quarter of its regulatory score. By CFIB’s own formula, that one change is worth about a full point on Ottawa’s overall score: from 6.51 to about 7.5. That would put Ottawa ahead of Red Deer, the current leader at 7.33.
Every employer deciding between Ottawa and another city looks at how easy it is to get things done. Ottawa lost 30,500 jobs between February 2025 and February 2026. This is how Ottawa competes.
No new hires. No new department.
The portal runs on systems the City already has: ottawa.ca and 311. It is staffed by existing City employees in business services and economic development. The Auditor General’s office already exists.
The real cost is the one Ottawa pays now: every permit delay and duplicate form that sends a business to another city.
Ottawa can build one too.
Report Red Tape works alongside Jobs and Growth (one City contact for every employer, with published decision timelines), Open During Construction, the Small Business Tax Cut, and Your Money in Plain Sight (every City contract online).
Toronto built one. Red Deer built one. Ottawa can build one too.
Read the full plank, with every source (PDF)
Ottawa deserves better.