Governments Help Reduce Red Tape for Businesses in Dauphin, Manitoba

DAUPHIN, Manitoba, December 23, 2008 — Starting and running a business in the city of Dauphin 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, Inky Mark, Member of Parliament for Dauphin–Swan River–Marquette, on behalf of the Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Industry, together with the Honourable Andrew Swan, Manitoba's Minister of Competitiveness, Training and Trade, and Alex Paul, Mayor of the City of Dauphin, welcomed the launch of BizPaL in Dauphin.

“With the current global economic instability, we need to make things easier for Canadian businesses, especially small businesses, which create so many of our new jobs,” said Mr. Mark. “BizPaL is a simple, cost-effective way to provide this kind of practical help to Canadian businesses. I am pleased to see BizPaL come to Dauphin and expand to more communities in Manitoba.”

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 Dauphin was developed by the City of Dauphin, the Province of Manitoba and the Government of Canada.

“I am very pleased that BizPaL has been launched in the city of Dauphin to promote the competitiveness of the community in attracting and growing businesses,” said Minister Swan. “BizPaL is a concrete example of our government's Single Window for Business Initiative, which is working to ensure business information and services are easy to find, easy to understand and easy to use.”

“The Canadian Federation of Independent Business has been a long-time advocate of BizPaL,” said Shannon Martin, Director of Provincial Affairs, Manitoba, for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. “This initiative offers important benefits to entrepreneurs and government and is something every municipality should be adopting. We applaud the federal government, the Province of Manitoba and the City of Dauphin for embracing BizPaL.”

“The City of Dauphin has been working jointly with the Province and the federal government to welcome this city into the BizPaL family. BizPaL streamlines the permit and licence process and is an effective tool for business development in the city of Dauphin,” said Mayor Paul.

Area business owners and entrepreneurs can access the service by visiting www.dauphin.ca or www.manitoba.ca/business. The Province is looking forward to expanding BizPaL to other areas of Manitoba in the near future.

Visit 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
Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism)
613-947-5856

Media Relations
Industry Canada
613-943-2502

Joe Czech
Communications Coordinator
Communications Services Manitoba
204-945-6778

Jana Schott
City of Dauphin
204-622-3229

---

December 23, 2008

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 expand 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, 10 provinces and territories are participating in BizPaL, with more than 160 municipalities offering the service.

Industry Canada is the lead federal department for the BizPaL initiative, supporting the centralized functions of the project. The Government of Canada is fully committed to creating a competitive business environment that supports innovation and reduces red tape. BizPaL is a complementary measure within the government's commitment to reduce the paperwork burden on small businesses by 20 percent.

The success of BizPaL is due in part to the multi-jurisdictional partnership among 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.

Within the Government of Manitoba, the Manitoba BizPaL Office, located in the Department of Competitiveness, Training and Trade, is entrusted with engaging local governments to make this important service available across Manitoba.

The Province of Manitoba is committed to expanding BizPaL across the province, as noted in the 2008 Manitoba Budget Address. BizPaL represents an integral component of Manitoba's Single Window for Business Initiative, which is focused on improving the accessibility of business information and services, helping to cut red tape.

This interactive, smart permit and licence tool is featured at www.manitoba.ca/business. Visit bizpal.ca for a complete list of participating jurisdictions.