Holland, Manitoba, December 11, 2009 — Starting and running a business in the South Central Planning District of Manitoba 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), together with the Honourable Peter Bjornson, Manitoba Minister of Entrepreneurship, Training and Trade, and Al Steinke, Chairman of the South Central Planning District, welcomed the launch of BizPaL in the Village of Somerset, the Town of Treherne and the Rural Municipalities of Lorne, Victoria, and South Norfolk.
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 the South Central Planning District was developed by the South Central Planning District, the Province of Manitoba and the Government of Canada.
“Small businesses are a major engine of Canada’s economy,” said Minister of State Ablonczy. “BizPaL demonstrates our government’s commitment to cut red tape and help small businesses grow and drive job creation and economic growth here and across Canada.”
“The launch of BizPaL in the South Central Planning District is a concrete example of our government’s commitment to assisting entrepreneurs with business information and services that are easy to find, easy to understand and easy to use,” said Minister Bjornson. “I am pleased our partnership with the South Central Planning District and the Manitoba Association of Bilingual Municipalities has brought BizPaL to these communities.”
“The South Central Planning District is pleased to unveil the official launch of BizPaL to its 6000 residents,” said Chairman Steinke. “The BizPaL service will provide essential development information to business-minded individuals looking to develop a business or industry in the area or expand their existing enterprise. BizPaL will certainly be a useful tool that will assist in the economic growth of our area.”
Area business owners and entrepreneurs can access the service by visiting the Manitoba BizPaL website. Manitoba is looking forward to expanding BizPaL to other areas of the province 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
Joe Czech
Communications Coordinator
Province of Manitoba
204-945-6778
joe.czech@gov.mb.ca
Ivan Bruneau
Chief Administrative Officer
Rural Municipality of Victoria
204-526-2423
ibruneau@rmofvictoria.com
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. Visit the BizPaL website for a complete list of participating jurisdictions. 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.
The Manitoba BizPaL office, located in the Department of Competitiveness, Training and Trade, is charged with engaging local governments to make this important service available across Manitoba. BizPaL represents an integral component of Manitoba’s Single Window for Business Initiative that is focused on improving the accessibility of its business information and services, helping to cut red tape. This interactive and smart permit and licence tool is featured at the Manitoba BizPaL website.
The Village of Somerset, the Town of Treherne and the Rural Municipalities of Lorne, Victoria and South Norfolk (part of the South Central Planning District) join 20 other municipalities that now offer the BizPaL service in Manitoba.
