Modernizing Regulatory Compliance The Ontario Experience

1. Modernizing Regulatory ComplianceThe Ontario Experience Presentation to the Regulatory Craft in Nova Scotia 2007 Conference November 20, 2007

2. Purpose • To highlight Ontario’s regulatory compliance modernization agenda. • To promote innovative approaches to addressing key compliance issues.

3. Overview of the II&E Community in Ontario • 13 provincial ministries with regulatory compliance responsibilities, plus a number of Delegated Administrative Authorities (DAAs) and Agencies. • Across our thirteen regulatory compliance ministries we have: • Responsibility for over 120 Acts with regulatory implications; • Over 2,500 front-line field staff in line Ministries; • 47 program areas across II&E ministries, for example: • Occupational health and safety and employment standards; • Environmental protection; • Commercial vehicle safety; • Oversight of long-term care facilities; • Forestry management; • Tobacco and fuel taxes, etc. • A broad and varied regulated community.

4. Role of the Inspections, Investigations and Enforcement (II&E) Secretariat Historical Role (Up to 2004): • Promoting broad themes of cooperation, promotion of Best Practices and assistance to regulatory compliance ministries and governments • Facilitating improvements in consistency and co-ordination across ministries, for example: • Coordinating delivery of specific initiatives (e.g. Risk framework, Code of Professionalism, foundations training) Re-Defined Role (After 2004): • Major leadership role in development/implementation of II&E Modernization initiatives across 13 ministries

5. Drivers for Improving Overall Capabilities • II&E ministries are doing great work in protecting the public interest but there are drivers for continued improvement: • The impact of the breadth of regulatory requirements on the business community and on gov’t operational resources. • Growing size and changing nature of the regulated community. • Areas of overlap and duplication between ministry programs. • Technology advances are opening up new opportunities for delivery of II&E services. • The regulated community has raised issues as well: • Number of regulatory requirements. • Difficulty in accessing and interpreting requirements. • Lack of in-house technical knowledge to meet requirements. • Perception that ministries do not cooperate or communicate with each other. • Perception that government is not effectively addressing serious, repeat violators.

6. What are We Doing to Address These Challenges?

7. Strategies for Improving Regulatory Compliance Capabilities • Strengthening the capabilities of regulatory ministries to work more co-operatively and use information more effectively. • Enabled through the Regulatory Modernization Act, 2007, which received Royal ascent on May 17, 2007. The RMA: • Focuses on: • Compliance-related information; • Business or equivalent information

8. The Regulatory Modernization Act(RMA) The RMA: • Strengthens capabilities for collection, use and disclosure of compliance information among programs/ministries/agencies and other entities which administer and enforce legislation. • Information collection, use and disclosure generally limited to information about “organizations”. • Specifies the types and purposes of information that could be collected, used and disclosed. • Does not authorize the sharing of personal information, except limited information about owners, officers, and directors of organizations.

9. The Regulatory Modernization Act(RMA) The RMA: • Enables authority for heads-ups among programs/ministries/ agencies/ boards/ Delegated Administrative Authorities (DAA’s) and other entities that enforce legislation. • Does not authorize “fishing expeditions”. • Provides authority to publish compliance and conviction information about organizations and conviction information about individuals. • Does not authorize the publication of personal information, except for conviction information.

10. The Regulatory Modernization Act(RMA) The RMA: • Allows Minister/Ministers to authorize enforcement officers to conduct enforcement actions for the purposes of multiple statutes. • Requires the court to consider previous convictions, which in the opinion of the prosecutor are relevant in determining the penalty for a conviction. • Does not remove the discretion that a Judge/Justice of the Peace (JP) has when determining sentence.

11. RMA Implementation Activities • Working towards effective date of January 17, 2008: • Heads-ups and Previous convictions clauses automatically enabled as of the effective date. • Development and Cabinet approval of LGIC regulation(s) for: • Collection, use and disclosure; • Publication; and • Multiple authorizations. • Development of implementation guidelines and templates to ensure consistent implementation across II&E ministries. • Training of line ministries and field staff for RMA implementation. • Identifying specific RMA implementation projects.

12. Strategies for Improving Regulatory Compliance Capabilities (Continued) • Implement a Small Business compliance improvement strategy that increases compliance, complementing current approaches with additional compliance support tools: • Implemented Compliance Information Centres (CICs) for the Auto Body Sector (June/06) and the Plastics Manufacturing Sector (May/07); • Currently developing a sector-focused, government-wide, compliance checklist.

13. What is the CIC? • It is a web-based information retrieval & online service delivery system designed to provide compliance assistance, enabling workplace stakeholders to easily access & understand their regulatory responsibilities, rights and contacts. • It is an initiative to identify, develop and test innovative opportunities for compliance improvement in a SME representative sector. • CIC innovations include: • Compliance focus; • Organized thought process; and • On-line forms and services. • Key government contact information; • Popular links to sector-related government and non-government web sites; • General workplace topics; • Frequently asked questions.

14. Plastics CIC(www.serviceontario.ca/plastics)

15. Strategies for Improving Regulatory Compliance Capabilities (Continued) • Introducing consistent High Performers and Serious Repeat Violator strategies across regulatory compliance ministries.

16. Strategies for Improving Regulatory Compliance Capabilities (cont.) • Assessing opportunities to improve approaches to training and learning across regulatory compliance ministries, focusing on: • Compliance foundations training; • Investigative skills training. • The need: • Re-defining current OPS foundational level training to better meet the training needs of field staff; • Access for all OPS regulatory compliance staff to consistent, regulatory training; • Identifying sustainable delivery models for II&E training that are cost-effective, consistent and ensure timely availability of training and learning; • Formal training modules with defensible training standards and instructor manuals to address issues of accountability, transparency and liability.

17. Introduction to Law and the Charter of Rights Introduction to the Provincial Offences Act Overview of Risk Note Taking Evidence Courtroom Demeanor, Preparation and Proceedings Inspection vs. Investigation Personal Safety & Awareness, Non-Violent Conflict Resolution Interviewing Techniques Code of Professionalism Cultural Diversity Overview of Regulatory Modernization Act & FOIPPA Compliance Foundations TrainingIn order to deal with the training challenges facing the community, the II&E Secretariat has created, in conjunction with senior managers and training specialists from across the regulatory community, a new Compliance Foundation Training Program, consisting of 12 modules.

18. Regulatory Investigations Training • The II&E Secretariat has also created, in conjunction with line ministries, four 4-day courses in the following areas: • Introduction to Regulatory Investigations; • Note Taking and Court Testimony; • Advanced Interviewing and Cautioned Statements; • Search Warrants.

19. Strategies for Improving Regulatory Compliance Capabilities • Other II&E community-building priorities: • Assessing opportunities for improving the toolkit of compliance activities within and between ministries. • Achieving greater field understanding and involvement in II&E activities. • E.g. Regional conferences; • II&E Intranet site. • Initiating a demonstration project to be launched shortly after effective date (January 17, 2008) for the RMA. • Pursuing IM/IT investments to strengthen II&E community capabilities. • E.g. Single business identifier; • Community IM/IT plan.

20. What Broader Benefits Can We Achieve? • Greater protection of the public interest. • Leveling the playing field for Ontario businesses and recognizing superior performance. • Streamlining business interactions with government. • Meets the need for greater public transparency.

21. For More Information: • John Stager Assistant Deputy Minister II&E Secretariat, Ontario Ministry of Labour Phone: (416)326-5441 E-mail: john.stager@ontario.ca