COQUITLAM, British Columbia, February 20, 2009 – Starting and running a business in the city of Coquitlam 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, the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, on behalf of the Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Industry, together with the Honourable Iain Black, British Columbia Minister of Labour and Citizens' Services and Member of the Legislative Assembly for Port Moody–Westwood, and Richard Stewart, Mayor of Coquitlam, welcomed the launch of BizPaL in Coquitlam, British Columbia.
BizPaL is an innovative service that provides entrepreneurs with simplified 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 Coquitlam was developed by the City of Coquitlam, the Province of British Columbia and the Government of Canada.
“BizPaL is part of our government's economic plan to support innovation and cut red tape,” said Minister Moore. “By working with the Province of British Columbia and the City of Coquitlam, we are bringing a service that will help entrepreneurs get started and help small businesses grow. It is especially important in the current global economic instability to make things easier for Canadian businesses, particularly small businesses, to encourage job creation.”
“BizPaL is another way our government is supporting the success of businesses in the Tri-Cities,” said Minister Black. “As government reduces red tape, small business owners spend less time dealing with paperwork and more time servicing customers and growing their businesses.”
“Through BizPaL, all levels of government can provide permit and licensing information conveniently online,” said Harry Bloy, Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia for Burquitlam. “Coquitlam's small businesses will benefit greatly from a more streamlined and simplified start-up process.”
“BizPaL and the OneStop Business Registry are two examples of how we can support local businesses by making it easier for them to grow their enterprise in our community,” said Mayor Stewart. “We're looking for new and better ways to facilitate growth and add value, and BizPaL is a great step in the right direction.”
Area business owners and entrepreneurs can access the service by visiting www.coquitlam.ca/bizpal or www.bcbizpal.ca. The Province is looking forward to expanding BizPaL to other areas of British Columbia over the next year.
Visit bizpal.ca for additional information and access to the websites of participating partners.
For further information (media only), please contact:
Catherine Godbout
Office of the Honourable Diane Ablonczy
Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism)
613-947-5856
Media Relations
Industry Canada
613-943-2502
Gordon Williams
Communications Director
Ministry of Small Business, Technology and Economic Development
Province of British Columbia
250-952-0152
Therese Mickelson
Manager, Corporate Communications
City of Coquitlam
604-927-3019
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 expand 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 extend services to more clients.
To date, 11 provinces and territories are participating in BizPaL, with more than 225 municipalities offering the service.
Industry Canada is the lead federal department for the BizPaL initiative, supporting the centralized functions of the project. The Government of Canada is fully committed to creating a competitive business environment that supports innovation and reduces red tape. BizPaL is a complementary measure within the government's commitment to reduce the paperwork burden on small businesses by 20 percent.
The success of BizPaL is due in part to the multi-jurisdictional partnership among federal, provincial, territorial, regional and local governments. The partnership operates under a shared governance and costing model with collaborative decision making. Each jurisdiction is responsible for adding and maintaining its own information in BizPaL.
This interactive, smart permit and licence tool is featured at www.bcbizpal.ca. Visit bizpal.ca for a complete list of participating jurisdictions.
