ST-PIERRE-JOLYS, Manitoba, January 14, 2010 — Starting and running a business in the village of St-Pierre-Jolys and the rural municipalities of De Salaberry, Montcalm and Ritchot 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, Rod Bruinooge, Member of Parliament for Winnipeg South, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Ablonczy, Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism), together with the Honourable Andrew Swan, Manitoba Minister of Justice and Attorney General, on behalf of the Honourable Peter Bjornson, Manitoba Minister of Entrepreneurship, Training and Trade, Réal Curé , Mayor of the Village of St-Pierre-Jolys, Bob Stefaniuk, Mayor of the Rural Municipality of Ritchot, Roger Vermette, Reeve of the Rural Municipality of Montcalm, and Jean Beaumont , Executive Director of the Manitoba Association of Bilingual Municipalities, welcomed the launch of BizPaL in the Village of St-Pierre-Jolys and the rural municipalities of De Salaberry, Montcalm and Ritchot.
BizPaL is an innovative service that provides entrepreneurs with simplified access to the information on the 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 these regions was developed by the Village of St-Pierre-Jolys and the rural municipalities of De Salaberry, Montcalm and Ritchot, the Province of Manitoba and the Government of Canada.
“Through Canada's Economic Action Plan, the Government of Canada is helping small businesses by increasing access to financing, lowering taxes and cutting red tape,” said Mr. Bruinooge. “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.”
“BizPaL helps reduce the burden of red tape and the cost of compliance for business, and I am pleased that entrepreneurs in the rural municipalities of De Salaberry, Montcalm and Ritchot and the village of St-Pierre-Jolys have access to the service,” said Minister Swan. “The key partners in making this launch possible include the Manitoba Association of Bilingual Municipalities and the Economic Development Council for Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities, which promote the competitiveness of Manitoba's bilingual communities.”
“We are pleased that we were able to help deliver the bilingual BizPaL/PerLE online service to the Village of St-Pierre-Jolys and the rural municipalities of De Salaberry, Montcalm and Ritchot,” said Mr. Beaumont. “We are committed to supporting businesses in bilingual communities throughout the province.”
The Village of St-Pierre-Jolys and the rural municipalities of De Salaberry, Montcalm and Ritchot join 26 other municipalities that now offer the BizPaL service in Manitoba. Area business owners and entrepreneurs can access the service by visiting the Manitoba Business Portal 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
Louis Tetrault
Director, Community Economic Development
Manitoba Association of Bilingual Municipalities
204-941-3249
ltetrault@cdem.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 375 municipalities offering the service. Visit the BizPaL website for a complete list of participating jurisdictions. BizPaL is a complementary measure within 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 Entrepreneurship, 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, which 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 on the Government of Manitoba Business Portal website .
The Village of St-Pierre-Jolys and the rural municipalities of De Salaberry, Montcalm and Ritchot join 26 other municipalities that now offer the BizPaL service in Manitoba. The Village of St-Pierre-Jolys and the rural municipalities of De Salaberry, Montcalm and Ritchot are pleased to join BizPaL and offer additional services to attract new business and strengthen the economy of the village and the rural municipalities.
