Regulatory sandboxes

Setting additional rules and criteria around this authority and regulatory sandboxes will help ensure that regulators are consistent, transparent, and accountable. 

The following criteria are being considered, for regulators to follow, when issuing exemptions to ensure the sandbox authority is being used responsibly across different sectors:

• Confirm that the exemption is needed to enable the sandbox; 
• Confirm that the exemption and sandbox are in the public interest;
• Obtain ministerial approval;
• Set a time limit (for example, up to three years), allowing for one renewal (for example, up to an additional three years); 
• Prescribe any additional conditions that must be met throughout the sandbox, including conditions that allow the regulator to effectively maintain oversight;
• Publish the exemption and rationale; and,
• If needed over the course of the sandbox, adjust or withdraw the exemption.

More broadly, regulators running a regulatory sandbox would have to follow these criteria to ensure they are being transparent with the public throughout its life cycle:

• Make any plans for regulatory sandboxes public; 
• Report publicly on outcomes of the sandbox; and, 
• Have mechanisms for the public to provide feedback before, during, and after each sandbox.

Regulators would also have to follow these additional criteria to ensure they are being consistent and thorough in the way that they plan and run a regulatory sandbox:  

• Consider the various potential implications of the sandbox (e.g., domestic, international, sectoral, economic, and environmental impacts) and opportunities to leverage relevant work in other jurisdictions;
• Identify key stakeholders and coordinate with other implicated regulators;
• Assess the value and feasibility of the sandbox;
• Develop plans for collecting and evaluating data, and measuring success;
• Develop plans for maintaining oversight throughout the sandbox;
• Develop risk and mitigation strategies, and consider how to adapt plans and processes in a manner consistent with the level of risk; and,
• Consider the post-sandbox pathway (i.e., how the regulator will end the sandbox and support a transition to any future regulatory change).

Questions:

We are seeking your input on any or all of the following questions:

1. What would you like to see in an ideal process as a stakeholder engaging on a regulatory sandbox?
2. What criteria or principles should regulators have to follow in using this authority and, more generally, in running regulatory sandboxes? 
3. Are there any potential issues and/or solutions that you would like regulators to consider?