Triage Statement

Table of Contents

Triage Statement

Triage Statement Form

Triage Statement

As part of the Government of Canada's regulatory policy, the Cabinet Directive on Streamlining Regulation (CDSR), regulatory proposals are assessed at an early stage to determine where processes can be streamlined and where resources should be focussed. This serves to make the regulatory system more effective and efficient.

The purpose of the Triage Statement is to assist regulatory organizations and the Regulatory Affairs Sector (RAS) of the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat in promoting the principle of proportionality–that significantly more time and resources should be spent on high-impact proposals than on low-impact ones. The Triage Statement is a tool that assesses the level of impact of a regulatory proposal in its development stage and assists in aligning it at the outset with the varying requirements of the Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement (RIAS).

The following levels of impact need to be considered in developing the Triage Statement:

• potential impact on health and safety, security, the environment, and the social and economic well-being of Canadians;
• cost or savings to government, business, or Canadians and the potential impact on the Canadian economy and its international competitiveness;
• potential impact on other federal departments or agencies, other governments in Canada, or on Canada's foreign affairs; and
• degree of interest, contention, and support among affected parties and Canadians.

The Triage Objectives

The objectives of the Triage Statement are to:

• facilitate early involvement by RAS in the regulatory development process to avoid delays that may occur at later stages in the process when requirements have not been met;
• assist regulatory organizations in focussing their efforts on regulatory proposals that have medium or high levels of impact;
• determine the appropriate CDSR requirements for each regulatory submission and the level of analysis required;
• support the use of the appropriate RIAS templates (low impact versus medium/high impact);
• assist in determining which proposals should be considered for exemption from pre-publication in Canada Gazette, Part I; and
• support more consistent regulatory impact analysis across federal regulatory organizations.

Completing the Triage Statement

As soon as a regulatory organization has made a decision to amend or introduce a regulation, the Triage Statement must be completed and sent to RAS. RAS analysts can then provide early assessment and input before the regulatory organization has initiated consultations or conducted detailed analysis on the regulatory proposal.

The answers to the questions in the Triage Statement should be based on readily available information, not on in-depth analysis. The specific information and level of detail required in a RIAS is not required at the Triage stage. The Triage Statement will determine the submission's CDSR requirements so that the regulatory organization can then initiate consultations, conduct the regulatory analysis, and draft the RIAS appropriately in developing the regulation.

RAS is available to help regulatory organizations complete the Triage Statement and will provide comments on draft Triage Statements.

Levels of Impact

The use of the word impact in this document refers to both positive and negative impacts. The description of the level of impact should be as short as possible, with a maximum of one page for each question.

For each of the questions, regulators will assess the expected effects of a regulatory proposal and rank the level of impact by selecting one of the four columns: No or N/A, Low, Medium or High. All numerical and monetary effects (e.g., costs and savings) should be based on gross rather than net values. When there are differing levels of impact within a question (e.g., low impact on some elements of a question and medium impact on others), only the highest impact level in the column should be checked. Impacts should not be averaged out.

No Impact or Not Applicable

The regulatory proposal may have no impact or is not applicable to the areas covered by the question. In these cases, no description of the level of impact is required.

Low

The regulatory proposal may have a minimal level of impact on the areas covered by the question. For example, it may be routine or administrative in nature or generally acknowledged as acceptable to the public and would have negligible impact on such areas as health and safety, the environment, the economy, or government.

Medium

The regulatory proposal may have some impact on the areas covered by the question. For example, if it represents considerable change to the status quo, it may affect such areas as health and safety, the environment, the economy, or government.

High

The regulatory proposal may have significant impact on areas covered by the question. For example, if it is highly controversial and represents a very significant change to the status quo, it may seriously affect such areas as health and safety, the environment, the economy, or government.

Overall Level of Significance of the Proposal

The overall level of significance of the regulatory proposal should be the highest level triggered by any of the questions in the Triage Statement.

Amending the Triage Statement

The Triage Statement is an initial assessment to determine the potential levels of impact of a regulatory proposal. Consequently, as new information becomes available and additional analysis and consultations are completed, the previously assessed impact levels may change, thereby requiring the Triage Statement to be amended. This can be done when the regulatory proposal is submitted to RAS for inclusion on the Treasury Board agenda, or before as appropriate. However, any changes to the Triage Statement by the sponsoring regulatory organization should be made, however, in discussion with a RAS analyst.

RAS Service Standard

A RAS analyst will send comments to the originating regulatory organization within 10 business days of receipt of a Triage Statement unless a different timeline is mutually agreed upon. The goal for RAS and the regulatory organization is to finalize the Triage Statement within 30 business days.

Security Classification

The originating regulatory organization will need to determine the security classification of the Triage Statement on a case-by-case basis. This determination should be made based on government-wide information laws and policies, including the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act, the Government Security Policy, the Policy on Access to Information, and the Policy on the Security of Cabinet Confidences.

Should security requirements permit, regulatory organizations are encouraged to share the Triage Statement with stakeholders as part of their consultation process. The Triage Statement could also be published on the organization's website, allowing the RIAS to refer to this web link.

Emergency Situations

When there is an immediate and serious risk to the health and safety of Canadians, their security, the economy, or the environment, expedited processes are required to allow the government to respond in a timely manner. It may be determined, in consultation with RAS, that a Triage Statement is not required for certain regulatory proposals arising out of emergency situations.

Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations

Miscellaneous amendment regulations (MARs) are used to correct errors, omissions, and inconsistencies in regulations in an expeditious way. The process can be used at any time.

The MARs process is faster and less costly than other regulatory approval processes and has the following advantages:

• it uses a low-impact RIAS, which is a simplified RIAS;
• no communication plan is required; and
• it is expected that there will be a recommendation for exemption from pre-publication in Part I of the Canada Gazette (except where required by statute).

Regulatory organizations must ensure that they obtain the agreement of the RAS before sending the draft on the drafting instructions to the relevant regulatory section of the Department of Justice Canada. To maximize efficiency, MARs should be submitted in an omnibus package.

When a regulation-making authority intends to amend several instruments at the same time and some of the instruments are statutory instruments (SI) and others are Statutory Orders and Regulations (SOR), two separate instruments are required: one to amend the SIs and the other to amend the SORs.

Criteria

1. MARs can be used to implement corrections that have been triaged as having no impact. These corrections are restricted to the following:

• errors in format, syntax, spelling, and punctuation;
• typographical errors, archaisms, anomalies, and numbering errors;
• inconsistencies between the English and French versions, as long as these inconsistencies are non-substantive;
• obsolete regulations (i.e., regulations that are outdated but still legally enforceable); and
• spent regulations (i.e., regulations that have no further application or effect).

2. MARs can also be used to implement regulatory amendments requested by the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations that have been triaged as having no impact or a low impact. In the event that a change requested by the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations is triaged as having a medium or high impact because, for example, it affects Canadians in a significant manner and some form of consultation may be needed, departments are to consult with TBS' Regulatory Affairs Sector (TBS-RAS) to assess whether the MARs process is appropriate.

Process

Ensure receipt of TBS-RAS' concurrence before proceeding with MARs. Unless otherwise indicated (e.g., statutory requirements), the following requirements apply to MARs:

• complete the Low-impact RIAS template;
• the minister or agency head does not have to sign the RIAS;
• no communication plan is required;
• no pre-publication is necessary; and
• MARs require the words "Miscellaneous Program" to appear at the end of the title.

Step-By-Step Summary of the Triage Statement Process

Step 1

As soon as a regulatory organization has made a decision to amend or introduce a regulation, a Triage Statement should be completed and a draft copy sent to RAS for review before it is signed. Upon receiving the Triage Statement, RAS analysts will contact the originating regulatory organization with any comments within 10 business days.

Step 2

Once finalized and agreed upon, the Triage Statement should then be signed by the regulator (director) and sent to the RAS analyst for approval (signature) before the regulatory organization has initiated the analysis and consultations. Regulatory authorities shall resubmit the Triage Statement to their RAS analyst if the level of impact changes from their initial assessment. This can be done when the regulatory proposal is submitted to RAS for inclusion on the Treasury Board (Part B) agenda or before, as appropriate. However, RAS should be notified about this change in writing by email as soon as the regulator becomes aware of this change.

Step 3

The CDSR requirements are then determined for the regulatory proposal, including when it is a MAR, based on Section IV of the Triage Statement.

Triage Statement Form

For general public inquiries, please contact the Treasury Board Secretariat at:

E-mail: publicenquiries-demandesderenseignement@tbs-sct.gc.ca
Telephone: (613) 957-2400
Toll free: 1-877-636-0656
TTY: (613) 957-9090
Fax: (613) 943-5071

Mail:
Regulatory Affairs Sector
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
155 Queen Street, Suite 1100
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0R5

For federal regulatory organizations requiring assistance on applying the Triage Statement, please first contact your TBS-RAS Analyst or send an email to Regissues@tbs-sct.gc.ca.