CHILLIWACK, British Columbia, June 6, 2008 — Starting and running a business in the city of Chilliwack 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 Chuck Strahl, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, on behalf of the Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of Industry, together with the Honourable Barry Penner, British Columbia Minister of Environment and Minister responsible for Water Stewardship and Sustainable Communities, John Les, Member of the Legislative Assembly for Chilliwack-Sumas, and Chuck Stam, City Councillor, welcomed the launch of BizPaL in Chilliwack.
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 Chilliwack was developed with the support of Industry Canada, in collaboration with the City of Chilliwack and the Province of British Columbia.
"BizPaL is part of our government's economic plan laid out in Advantage Canada and Budget 2008 to provide an innovative and entrepreneurial business environment," said Minister Strahl. "The Government of Canada is pleased to be working with the Province of British Columbia and the City of Chilliwack to promote a more competitive and productive local economy by providing easy access to essential information and reducing paperwork costs for business."
"BizPaL allows all levels of government to provide permit and licensing information online and in one place," said Minister Penner. "It's all about convenience. As government reduces red tape, small business owners have more time to focus on growing their operations."
"BizPaL is another way our government is supporting the success of local businesses," said Mr. Les. "This is occurring, in part, due to our government's commitment to a competitive tax system and reduced regulatory burden on British Columbians."
"This will be a great addition to the services we offer our small business community," said Clint Hames, Mayor of Chilliwack. "I would like to thank council for their support in bringing BizPaL to Chilliwack."
Area business owners and entrepreneurs can access the service by visiting http://www.gov.chilliwack.bc.ca/main/page.cfm?id=1566 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
Rob Carnegie
Director of Corporate Services
City of Chilliwack
604-793-2910
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 (visit http://www.bizpal.ca for a complete list of participating jurisdictions). Within the province of British Columbia, Chilliwack 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 from 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 business must comply, and to achieve a 20 percent reduction in these requirements and obligations by November 2008. 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.
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: