Toronto launches survey to help small businesses cut red tape and modernize City services

New Red Tape Hotline initiative aims to streamline permitting, update bylaws, and improve response times for entrepreneurs

TORONTO — The City of Toronto is calling on local business owners to share their experiences with municipal processes as part of a new effort to reduce red tape and make City services more responsive.

Mayor Olivia Chow, joined by Councillor Shelley Carroll (Don Valley North), the Mayor’s Economic Development & Culture Champion, and Angela Drennan, Vice-President of Legislative Affairs at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), announced the launch of the Red Tape Hotline survey during an event at Red Tape Brewery on Monday.

The survey, open until Sunday, November 30, is part of a broader initiative designed to help small and medium-sized business owners navigate City procedures, identify common barriers, and propose solutions to modernize how Toronto regulates business activity.

Helping businesses save time and stay competitive

First introduced earlier this year as a pilot program, the Red Tape Hotline provides business operators with a direct channel to report issues such as permitting delays, outdated bylaws, or duplicative regulations that slow down operations or innovation.

Mayor Chow said that streamlining these processes is key to supporting local entrepreneurs facing rising costs and global economic uncertainty. “Toronto businesses are facing pressures on many fronts, from global tariffs to rising costs,” Chow said in a City statement. “By cutting red tape, we are making it easier for them to succeed, create jobs and keep our neighbourhoods vibrant.”

The hotline is part of Toronto’s Sidewalks to Skylines: An Action Plan for Toronto’s Economy (2025–2035), which outlines steps to strengthen competitiveness, attract investment, and enhance the City’s business environment. It also complements Toronto’s economic response to U.S. tariffs by focusing on efficiency, resilience, and local growth.

City of Toronto Hotline helps local business owners cut through red tape

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A direct line between City Hall and entrepreneurs

Councillor Carroll emphasized that the new tool gives business owners a voice in shaping the City’s administrative improvements. “Starting a business should be exciting, not exhausting,” Carroll said. “The Red Tape Hotline gives entrepreneurs a direct line to City Hall so we can fix what’s slowing them down and make Toronto a place where business can thrive.”

According to CFIB, red tape continues to be a major concern for small business owners across Canada. Drennan noted that the average small business spent approximately 735 hours—equivalent to 92 workdays— dealing with regulatory compliance last year.

“We commend the City of Toronto for giving small business owners a mechanism to share the barriers to their growth,” said Drennan. “CFIB is optimistic that the Red Tape Hotline pilot will go further and become a permanent portal, a business-friendly transparency tool to drive future business improvement recommendations.”

What’s next

Feedback gathered through the survey will inform a City staff report to be presented to the Economic and Community Development Committee in early 2026. The report will include findings and recommendations for administrative and bylaw updates aimed at reducing red tape.

In addition to the hotline, the City continues to offer a range of business supports, including:

• The Small Business Property Tax Subclass, which provides tax relief for eligible small businesses;

• Financial incentives for Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) to help revitalize local commercial corridors;

• TradeTO, a program that assists Toronto companies in expanding into new markets; and

• The annual Small Business Forum, taking place Wednesday, October 29 at Meridian Hall.

Business owners can access the Red Tape Hotline survey at toronto.ca/redtape and learn more about City supports at toronto.ca/business-economy.

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