BROOKS, Alberta, December 18, 2009 — Starting and running a business in the City of Brooks 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, LaVar Payne, Member of Parliament for Medicine Hat, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Ablonczy, Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism), together with Arno Doerksen, Alberta Member of the Legislative Assembly for Strathmore–Brooks, and Martin Shields, Mayor of the City of Brooks, welcomed the launch of BizPaL in Brooks, Alberta.
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 Brooks was developed by the City of Brooks, the Province of Alberta and the Government of Canada.
“Though Canada’s Economic Action Plan, the government is helping small businesses by increasing access to financing, lowering taxes and cutting red tape,” said Mr. Payne. “BizPaL is a great example of the government’s hard work to support small and medium-sized enterprises across Canada as they innovate, create jobs and generate wealth in our communities.”
“Brooks was recently called a ‘hotbed’ and ranks in the top 10 Canadian communities for small business growth,” said the Honourable Heather Klimchuk, Minister of Service Alberta. “BizPaL will help the community build on that proud achievement by making it easier for entrepreneurs to get their business up and running or expand an existing one.”
“The City of Brooks is pleased to support new business growth and recognizes that BizPaL provides entrepreneurs with the licensing information they require to set up their business in a cost-effective and efficient manner,” said Mayor Shields. “This helps to demonstrate that our community is open for business.”
Area business owners and entrepreneurs can access the service by visiting the City of Brooks’ BizPaL website or Service Alberta’s BizPaL website. The Province is looking forward to expanding BizPaL to other areas of Alberta over the next year.
Visit the BizPaL website 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
Mike Berezowsky
Communications
Service Alberta
780-415-6051
Brian Gale
Business Development Officer
City of Brooks
403-362-3333
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 350 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 in the government’s success in reducing 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 Service Alberta’s BizPaL website. Visit the BizPaL website for a complete list of participating jurisdictions.
