BizPaL Launched in Ladysmith

LADYSMITH, British Columbia, June 5, 2008 — Starting and running a business in the Town of Ladysmith 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 Ron Cantelon, member of the Legislative Assembly for Nanaimo-Parksville, and Rob Hutchins, Mayor of Ladysmith, welcomed the launch of BizPaL in Ladysmith.

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 Ladysmith was developed with the support of Industry Canada, in collaboration with the Town of Ladysmith and the Province of British Columbia.

"Small businesses are a major engine of our economy and this is why our government's economic plan, Advantage Canada, seeks to create an entrepreneurial environment where small businesses can thrive," said Secretary of State Ablonczy. "The Government of Canada is pleased to be working with the Province of British Columbia and the Town of Ladysmith to promote a more competitive and productive local economy by providing easy access to essential information and reducing paperwork costs for business."

"BizPaL is consistent with our government's goal of reducing the regulatory burden on small business," said Cantelon. "The businesses of Ladysmith will benefit greatly from a more streamlined and simplified start-up process."

"BizPal provides the Town of Ladysmith with an exciting new opportunity to serve our business community," said Mayor Hutchins. "I'd like to thank our council for their support in bringing BizPal to Ladysmith."

Area business owners and entrepreneurs can access the service by visiting http://www.ladysmith.ca/bizpal.php 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

Caroline Spira
Economic Development Officer
Town of Ladysmith
250-245-6410
cspira@ladysmith.ca

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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 (visit http://www.bizpal.ca for a complete list of participating jurisdictions). Within the province of British Columbia, Ladysmith 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.