BizPaL Launched in Guelph

GUELPH, Ontario, January 31, 2008 — Starting and running a business in the City of Guelph 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 Mayor Karen Farbridge welcomed the launch of BizPaL in the City of Guelph.

BizPaL is an innovative project that provides entrepreneurs with simplified access to 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 Government of Canada is working hard with provincial, municipal and territorial governments to provide the best possible service for small businesses," said Secretary of State Ablonczy. "BizPaL is part of our government's economic plan, laid out in Advantage Canada, to provide an innovative and entrepreneurial business environment."

"Time is money for entrepreneurs, and our focus is to make it easier for small businesses to thrive in this province," Ontario Minister of Government and Consumer Services, the Honourable Ted McMeekin said today. "BizPaL simplifies permits and licences, giving Ontario businesses a crucial competitive edge in our global markets."

"BizPaL is a great customer service innovation that will help local businesses navigate the permit and licensing system quickly and easily. Guelph is delighted to participate," said Mayor Karen Farbridge.

The BizPaL service in the City of Guelph was developed with the support of Industry Canada, in collaboration with the city and the Province of Ontario.

Area business owners and entrepreneurs can access the service by visiting http://www.guelph.ca/bizpal 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 more information, 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
Cell: 647-218-8659

Markham Wismer
Communications & Marketing Co-ordinator
Corporate Communications,
City of Guelph
519-822-1260 ext. 2489

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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, BizPaL has been launched in more than 70 cities and towns in six provinces and territories (refer to http://www.bizpal.ca for a complete list of participating jurisdictions). Within the Province of Ontario, the City of Guelph joins a growing list of participating municipalities, including Brockville, Oakville, Greater Sudbury, Brampton, Windsor, Ottawa and the Regional Municipality of Halton.

BizPaL was a commitment of the Government of Canada in Budget 2006. The development of the BizPaL project involved consultations with stakeholders in business and government. It grew out of a working group of representatives from federal departments and from provincial, territorial and municipal governments across Canada. In November 2006, the Government of Canada released Advantage Canada, its long-term economic plan, in which it identified ways to give Canada an entrepreneurial advantage, as well as a 20-percent reduction in paperwork burden. Budget 2007 committed to achieving this target by November 2008.