REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT
(RIAS)

Government departments and agencies are subject to the government's policy on the publication of proposed regulations.^[1] The Regulatory Process Guide^[2] requires that proposed regulations be published with a Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement (RIAS). The regulations affected are regulations within the meaning of the Statutory Instruments Act, in other words, instruments designated "SOR".

The RIAS is published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, then in the Canada Gazette, Part II, along with the final publication of the regulations. Regulations that are not subject to the prepublication policy and other documents and statutory instruments that are required to be published in the Canada Gazette, Part II, are published with an explanatory note (see Explanatory Note) instead of a RIAS.

The RIAS is prepared by the department or agency sponsoring the regulations and is submitted for review, along with the proposed regulations, to the Regulatory Affairs Division (Treasury Board Secretariat). The department or agency is responsible for the content of the RIAS. The Departmental Legal Services Unit must examine the legal aspects of the proposed regulations and the RIAS before they are sent to the appropriate regulations section.^[3]

Under the Framework for the Triage of Regulatory Submissions,^[4] regulations are classified according to their relative importance. "Low" significance proposals will use an abridged RIAS, while "medium" and "high" significance proposals will continue to use the current RIAS.

The current RIAS comprises six parts:

1. Description
2. Alternatives
3. Benefits and costs
4. Consultation
5. Compliance and enforcement
6. Contact

The RIAS for a regulation sponsored by the Department of Transport often has a separate heading dealing with the regulation's impact on the environment.

The abridged RIAS comprises four parts:

1. Description
2. Alternatives
3. Consultation
4. Contact

For details on how to draft a RIAS, consult the RIAS Writer's Guide (1992), published by the Privy Council Office.

Part 4 – Table of contents

Footnotes

• ^[1] See Cabinet Directive on Streamlining Regulation (2007), item 4.1.

• ^[2] Regulatory Process Guide: Developing a Regulatory Proposal and Seeking Its Approval, Privy Council Office, 2004.

• ^[3] Ibid.

• ^[4] Regulatory Affairs Division - Privy Council Office, 31 May 2006.