PEACHLAND, British Columbia, August 5, 2008 — Starting and running a business in the District of Peachland 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 Stockwell Day, Minister of Public Safety and Member of Parliament for Okanagan-Coquihalla, on behalf of the Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of Industry, together with Rick Thorpe, Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia for Okanagan-Westside, and Jean Fraser, Deputy Mayor of the District of Peachland, welcomed the launch of BizPaL in Peachland.
BizPaL is an innovative project 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 Peachland was developed with the support of Industry Canada, in collaboration with the District of Peachland and the Province of British Columbia.
"Small businesses are a major engine of our economy, and this is why the government's economic plan, Advantage Canada, seeks to create an entrepreneurial environment where small businesses can thrive," said Minister Day. "The Government of Canada is pleased to be working with the Province of British Columbia and the District of Peachland to promote a more competitive and productive local economy by providing easy access to essential information and reducing paperwork costs for business."
"I am pleased to see our three levels of government working together on behalf of taxpayers by bringing BizPaL to Peachland," said Mr. Thorpe. "Small businesses are key to making our local economy competitive and productive. BizPaL will support Peachland's small businesses by providing simplified access to key information, reducing paperwork and saving time."
"This will be an excellent addition to the services we offer our small business community," said Graham Reid, Mayor of the District of Peachland. "BizPaL will allow our entrepreneurs a more streamlined and simplified start-up process."
Area business owners and entrepreneurs can access the service by visiting http://www.peachland.ca/services/bizpal/online_services.htm or http://www.bcbizpal.ca. The Province is looking forward to expanding BizPaL to other areas of British Columbia over the next year.
Visit http://www.bizpal.ca for additional project history, information and access to the websites of participating partners.
For further information (media only), please contact:
Catherine Godbout
Office of the Honourable Diane Ablonczy
Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism)
613-947-5856
Media Relations
Industry Canada
613-943-2502
Dave Crebo
Communications Director
Ministry of Small Business and Revenue
Government of British Columbia
250-387-4193
Jean Fraser
Deputy Mayor
District of Peachland
250-767-2647
The Government of Canada recognizes the importance of small businesses to Canada's economy and understands the challenges associated with starting up and growing a business.
That is why, since 2006, the Government of Canada has introduced a number of key measures to help small and medium-sized businesses across the country. The government has:
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 operate 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 improve services to clients.
To date, 9 provinces and territories are participating in BizPaL, with more than 130 municipalities offering the service (visit http://www.bizpal.ca for a complete list of participating jurisdictions). Within the province of British Columbia, Peachland joins a growing list of participating municipalities.
BizPaL was a commitment of the Government of Canada in Budget 2006. It grew out of a working group of representatives from federal departments and provincial, territorial and municipal governments across Canada. The development of the BizPaL project involved consultations with stakeholders in business and government.
In November 2006, the Government of Canada released Advantage Canada, in which it committed to reducing the paperwork burden on businesses by 20 percent. In Budget 2007, the Government of Canada took further action by requiring key federal regulatory departments and agencies to establish an inventory of administrative requirements and information obligations with which businesses must comply; and to achieve a 20-percent reduction in these requirements and obligations. Budget 2008 reaffirmed this commitment and highlighted the importance of complementary measures that simplify paperwork for businesses but do not reduce the inventory of requirements. BizPaL is key among these complementary measures.