Governments of Canada, Alberta and Wood Buffalo Deliver New BizPaL Service

New online business permit and licence service saves time, cuts paperwork and helps entrepreneurs

Fort McMurray, Alberta, January 28, 2010 — Starting and running a business in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo 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 Rob Moore, Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism), together with the Honourable Heather Klimchuk, Minister of Service Alberta, and Melissa Blake, Mayor of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, welcomed the launch of BizPaL in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, Alberta.

BizPaL is an innovative service 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 the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo was developed by the Municipality, the Province of Alberta and the Government of Canada.

“Through Canada’s Economic Action Plan, our government is helping small businesses by increasing access to financing, lowering taxes and cutting red tape,” said Minister of State Moore. “BizPaL is a great example of our government’s hard work to support small and medium-sized enterprises across Canada as they innovate, create jobs and generate wealth in our communities.”

“The Alberta government recognizes that Wood Buffalo is a vital and integral part of the province’s economy, and I am delighted the community is partnering with us and the federal government to provide BizPaL,” said Minister Klimchuk. “BizPaL is a big help for entrepreneurs looking to start or expand a business, which in turn provides jobs for the community.”

“I am delighted Wood Buffalo was able to work so well with the provincial and federal governments to implement a program that will have such a tremendous benefit for our new and existing businesses,” said Mayor Blake.

Area business owners and entrepreneurs can access the service by visiting Wood Buffalo’s BizPaL website or Service Alberta’s website. The Province is looking forward to expanding BizPaL to other areas of Alberta over the next year.

Visit the BizPaL website for additional information and access to the websites of participating partners.

For further information (media only), please contact:

Ryan Greer
Office of the Honourable Rob Moore
Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism)
613-943-6183

Media Relations
Industry Canada
613-943-2502

Mike Berezowsky
Communications
Service Alberta
780-415-6051

Alexandra Collins
Public Affairs Advisor
Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo
780-792-5998

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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 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 extend services to more clients.

To date, 11 provinces and territories are participating in BizPaL, with more than 375 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 success in reducing 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.

This interactive, smart permit and licence tool is featured on the Service Alberta website. Visit bizpal.ca for a complete list of participating jurisdictions.