BizPaL Launched in the District Municipality of Muskoka

BRACEBRIDGE, Ontario, June 24, 2008 — Starting and running a business in the District Municipality of Muskoka 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, Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism), on behalf of the Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of Industry, together with Gord Adams, Chair of the District Municipality of Muskoka, welcomed the launch of BizPaL in the townships of Georgian Bay, Lake of Bays and Muskoka Lakes, and the towns of Bracebridge, Gravenhurst and Huntsville.

BizPaL is an innovative project that provides entrepreneurs with simplified access to the information on permits and licences that 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 District Municipality of Muskoka was developed with the support of Industry Canada, in collaboration with the District Municipality of Muskoka and the Province of Ontario.

"BizPaL is part of our government's economic plan that is laid out in Advantage Canada to provide an innovative and entrepreneurial business environment," said Secretary of State Ablonczy. "This service will benefit the Province of Ontario and the District Municipality of Muskoka by stimulating economic growth and prosperity for area businesses."

"Building a strong economy and strong communities across Ontario is a priority for our government," said the Honourable Ted McMeekin, Ontario's Minister of Government and Consumer Services. "BizPaL gives businesses an edge in getting permits and licences easily and quickly, so that they can continue to add to Ontario's strong economic growth."

"BizPaL is a great customer service innovation that will allow the District Municipality of Muskoka to better serve its business community and encourage economic development. I am pleased to see the launch of BizPaL in Muskoka," said Mr. Adams.

Area business owners and entrepreneurs can access the service by visiting http://www.muskoka.on.ca/siteengine/activepage.asp?PageID=13 or http://www.serviceontario.ca/bizpal. The Province is looking forward to expanding BizPaL to other areas of Ontario 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

Ciaran Ganley
Manager
Issues Management and Media Relations
Province of Ontario
416-325-8659
647-218-8659 (cell)

Deena Brock
Muskoka Enterprise Centre
705-646-9021
705-645-1262 (fax)
info@muskokaenterprisecentre.com

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Backgrounder
BizPaL Simplifies Permits and Licences for Canadian Businesses

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, 8 provinces and territories are participating in BizPaL, with more than 125 municipalities offering the service.

In November 2006, the Government of Canada released its long-term economic plan called Advantage Canada, in which it committed to reducing the paperwork burden on businesses by 20 percent. Budget 2008 reaffirmed this commitment and highlighted the importance of complementary measures that simplify paperwork for businesses. BizPaL is key among these measures.

The success of BizPaL is due to the multi-jurisdictional partnership among the 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. ServiceOntario, part of Ontario's Ministry of Government and Consumer Services, is entrusted with engaging local governments to make this important service available across Ontario.

Within the province of Ontario, the District Municipality of Muskoka joins more than 50 municipalities participating in BizPaL. Visit http://www.bizpal.ca for a complete list of participating jurisdictions.