BRAMPTON, Ontario, September 7, 2007 -- Starting and running a business in Brampton just became easier thanks to BizPaL, a new online business permit and licence service that saves time spent on paperwork and helps entrepreneurs start up faster.
Today, Wajid Khan, Member of Parliament for Mississauga-Streetsville, on behalf of the Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of Industry, together with Linda Jeffrey, Member of Provincial Parliament for Brampton Centre, on behalf of the Honourable Gerry Phillips, Minister of Government Services, and Regional Councillors Elaine Moore and John Sanderson welcomed the launch of BizPaL in the City of Brampton.
BizPaL is an innovative project that provides entrepreneurs with simplified access to the information on permits and licences that they need to establish and run their businesses. This unique partnership among federal, provincial, territorial, regional and local governments is designed to cut through the paperwork burden and red tape that small business owners encounter.
"BizPaL will make it easier for people in Brampton to get the licences and permits they need to start up and grow their businesses," said Mr. Khan. "Canada's New Government is working hard with provincial and municipal governments to provide the best possible service for small businesses."
"BizPaL is just one way in which we're making it easier for businesses in Ontario," said Gerry Phillips, Ontario's Minister of Government Services. "Businesses told us they needed a one-window approach to government services and information -- and we're delivering."
"Brampton is one of the first municipalities in Ontario and Canada to join the BizPaL online network, and we are thrilled to be part of this innovative network. It reflects the City of Brampton's commitment to offer local businesses and entrepreneurs innovative tools and resources to help them create and grow successful and thriving businesses," said Regional Councillor Elaine Moore, Chair of Brampton's Economic Development Committee.
"The Region of Peel is proud to work with its government partners to bring BizPaL to Peel's business community," said Regional Councillor John Sanderson.
"Providing tools to help Peel's businesses grow and prosper will continue to make this region a great place to live and work."
The BizPaL service in the City of Brampton was developed with Industry Canada, in collaboration with the municipality and the Province of Ontario.
Area business owners and entrepreneurs can access the service by visiting http://www.brampton.ca/bizpal or http://www.serviceontario.ca/bizpal. The province is looking forward to expanding BizPaL to other areas of Ontario over the next year.
Visit http://www.bizpal.ca for additional project history and information, and to access the websites of participating partners.
For more information, please contact:
Deirdra McCracken
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Jim Prentice
Minister of Industry
613-995-9001
Media Relations
Industry Canada
613-943-2502
Wajid Khan
Member of Parliament for
Mississauga–Streetsville
905-812-1811
Ciaran Ganely
Manager, Issues Management and Media Relations
Government of Ontario
416-325-8659
Gordon Smith
Manager, Media Communications
City of Brampton
905-874-3426
gordon.smith@brampton.ca
Roy Wiseman
Chief Information Officer
Region of Peel
905-791-7800 ext. 4512
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BizPaL Simplifies Permits and Licences for Canadian Businesses
BizPaL is an online service that benefits Canadian businesses by helping them identify which permits and licences they require and how to obtain them. Entrepreneurs simply answer a series of questions on the type of business they want to start or operate and the activities they plan to undertake. BizPaL then automatically generates a list of all required permits and licences from all levels of government, along with basic information on each, and links to government sites where the entrepreneur can learn more and, in some cases, apply online.
BizPaL also benefits governments by making it easier for them to provide accurate information on permits and licences to business. Although the service is offered online, it can also be used through other service channels (i.e. telephone and in-person centres) to improve services to clients.
To date, BizPaL has been launched in more than 50 cities and towns in six provinces and territories (refer to http://www.bizpal.ca for a complete list of participating jurisdictions). Within the province of Ontario, Brampton joins a growing list of participating cities including Windsor, Ottawa, and the regional municipality of Halton.
The development of the BizPaL project involved consultations with stakeholders in business and government. It grew out of a working group of representatives from federal departments, provincial and territorial governments, and municipal governments across Canada.
BizPaL was a commitment of Canada's New Government in Budget 2006. In November 2006, Canada's New Government released Advantage Canada, its long-term economic plan, in which it identified ways to give Canada an entrepreneurial advantage and reduce paperwork burden by 20 percent. Forging ahead, Budget 2007 committed to achieving this target by November 2008.
