PRINCETON, British Columbia, August 20, 2008 -- Starting and running a business in the Town of Princeton just became easier thanks to BizPaL, a new online business permit and licence service that saves time spent on paperwork and helps entrepre eneurs start up faster.
Today, the Honourable Diane Ablonczy, Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism), on behalf of the Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of Industry, together with the Honourable Shirley Bond, Deputy Premier and provincia l Minister of Education, Rick Thorpe, Member of the Legislative Assembly for Okanagan--Westside, and Randy McLean, Mayor of Princeton, welcomed the launch of BizPaL in Princeton.
BizPaL is an innovative project that provides entrepreneurs with s implified access to the information on permits and licences 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. The BizPaL service in Princeton was developed by the Town of Princeton, the Province of British Columbia and the Government of Canada.
"The Government of Canada is pleased to be working with th e Province of British Columbia and the Town of Princeton to provide ways that make it easier for area businesses to have access to essential information and reduce paperwork costs," said Secretary of State Ablonczy. "This approach is consistent with other measures announced in Budget 2008 and in our overall economic plan, Advantage Canada, which will provide an innovative and entrepreneurial business environment for Canadians."
"I am pleased to see our three levels of g overnment working together on behalf of taxpayers by bringing BizPaL to Princeton," said Mr. Thorpe. "Small businesses are key to making our local economy competitive and productive. BizPaL will support Princeton's small businesses by providing easy access to essential information, reducing paperwork and saving time."
"We want to give businesses every encouragement to flourish in our community, and BizPaL will be an excellent first step for those starting out," said Mayor McLean. "I'd like to thank council for their support in bringing BizPaL to the Town of Princeton."
Area business owners and entrepreneurs can access the service by visiting
http://www.bcbizpal.ca . T he Province is looking forward to expanding BizPaL to other areas of British Columbia over the next year.
Visit
http://www.bizpal.ca for additional project history, information and access to the websites of part icipating partners.
For further information (media only), please contact:
Catherine Godbout
Office of the Honourable Diane Ablonczy
Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism)
613-947-5856
Media Relations
Ind ustry Canada
613-943-2502
Christine Wood
Communications Director
Ministry of Small Business and Revenue
Government of British Columbia
250-387-4193
Randy McLean
Mayor of Princeton
250-295-5478
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Backgrounder 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 pe rmits 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, 9 provinces and territories are participating in BizPaL, with more than 140 municipalities offering the service (visit
http://www.bizpal.ca for a complete list of participating jurisdictions). Within the province of Bri tish Columbia, Princeton joins a growing list of participating municipalities.
BizPaL was a commitment of the Government of Canada in Budget 2006. It grew out of a working group of representatives from federal departments and provincial, territor ial and municipal governments across Canada. The development of the BizPaL project involved consultations with stakeholders in business and government.
In November 2006, the Government of Canada released Advantage Canada, in which it commi tted to reducing the paperwork burden on businesses by 20 percent. In Budget 2007, the Government of Canada took further action by requiring key federal regulatory departments and agencies to establish an inventory of administrative requirements and infor mation obligations with which businesses must comply; and to achieve a 20-percent reduction in these requirements and obligations. Budget 2008 reaffirmed this commitment and highlighted the importance of complementary measures that simplify paperwork for businesses but do not reduce the inventory of requirements. BizPaL is key among these complementary measures.
