ST. JOHN'S, Newfoundland and Labrador, February 27, 2009 — Starting and running a business in the city of St. John's and the municipalities of Stephenville and Happy Valley-Goose Bay 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 Diane Ablonczy, Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism), on behalf of the Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Industry, together with the Honourable Kevin O'Brien, Newfoundland and Labrador Minister of Government Services, Dennis O'Keefe, Mayor of St. John's, Leo Abbass, Mayor of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Tom O'Brien, Mayor of Stephenville, and, welcomed the launch of BizPaL in these three municipalities at an event in St. John's, Newfoundland.
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 St. John's, Stephenville and Happy Valley-Goose Bay was developed by the municipalities, the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Government of Canada.
“Our government is working with all levels of government to deliver the BizPaL service,”said Minister of State Ablonczy. “At a time of global economic instability, we need to do all we can to help Canadian small businesses drive our economy. This service makes it easy for businesses to get the information they need to start up and grow. BizPaL is part of our government's economic plan to support innovation and cut red tape.”
“This is an exciting day and one which I know many business owners have been looking forward to,”said Minister O'Brien. “BizPaL is simple to use and will help business owners easily identify which permits and licenses they need from all levels of government through one online source. This will certainly enhance business development in Newfoundland and Labrador.”
“St. John's is pleased to be among the first municipalities in the province to offer BizPaL. This business-friendly initiative provides easy access to essential information and allows business to navigate through multi-jurisdictional processes with ease,”said Mayor O'Keefe.
“Having the Town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay included in BizPaL is a wonderful opportunity for those who seek to establish a business in our community,”said Mayor Abbass. “It gives a one-stop solution to what is sometimes a cumbersome and time-consuming process in investigating business set-up or expansion. This tool will benefit both the entrepreneur and our town. By being associated with BizPaL, the Town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay is making the process of business development easier to execute, which can only be good for the numerous opportunities that exist here.”
“BizPaL has been developed in collaboration with federal, provincial/territorial and local governments, with shared governance and collaborative decision making,”said Mayor O'Brien. “Whether you are starting a new business in Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador, or in a town in another part of Canada, you will have all of the information you need from all levels of government.”
“Figuring out what's required by all three levels of government to start or expand a business costs Newfoundland and Labrador entrepreneurs both time and money,”said Bradley George, Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) Director of Provincial Affairs for Newfoundland and Labrador. “With this in mind, CFIB is happy to support BizPaL and believes it will make it easier to do business in the province.”
Business owners and entrepreneurs in these three municipalities can access the service by visiting www.stjohns.ca/bizpal, www.town.stephenville.nf.ca/bizpal, www.happyvalley-goosebay.com/bizpal.
The Province is looking forward to expanding BizPaL to other areas of Newfoundland and Labrador over the next year.
Visit bizpal.ca for additional information and to 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
Vanessa Colman-Sadd
Director of Communications
Department of Government Services
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
709-729-4860
Vicki Button
Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Culture
City of St. John's
709-576-8147
Carolyn Lidstone
Town Clerk
Town of Stephenville
709-643-8364
Karen Wheeler
Director of Economic Development
Town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay
709-896-5427
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.
As part of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador's Department of Government Services, the Newfoundland and Labrador BizPaL Office is entrusted with engaging local governments to make this important service available across Newfoundland and Labrador.
Visit bizpal.ca for a complete list of participating jurisdictions.
