Governments of Canada, Ontario and Owen Sound Deliver New BizPaL Service

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

OWEN SOUND, Ontario, January 29, 2010 — Starting and running a business in the City of Owen Sound 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, Larry Miller, Member of Parliament for Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound, on behalf of the Honourable Rob Moore, Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism), together with Bill Murdoch, Member of Provincial Parliament for Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound, and Ruth Lovell Stanners, Mayor of the City of Owen Sound, welcomed the launch of BizPaL in Owen Sound, Ontario.

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 Owen Sound was developed by the City of Owen Sound, the Province of Ontario 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 Mr. Miller. “BizPaL is a great example of the government's hard work to support small and medium-sized enterprises across Canada as they innovate, create jobs and generate wealth in our communities.”

“Our priority is to build a strong economy and strong communities across Ontario,” said the Honourable Harinder S. Takhar, Ontario's Minister of Government Services. “BizPaL gets our entrepreneurs up and running quickly and easily. It gives them a valuable edge in these challenging economic times.”

“I think the incorporation of BizPaL into the current City of Owen Sound website will be a great benefit to people looking to start up or expand a business in our community,” said Mayor Lovell Stanners. “BizPaL will help provide business people with one-stop access to the City's permit and licence information and help our people at City Hall improve service to the business community.”

Area business owners and entrepreneurs can access the service by visiting Owen Sound's BizPaL website or Service Ontario's website. The Province is looking forward to expanding BizPaL to other areas of Ontario 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

Ciaran Ganley
Manager
Issues Management and Media Relations
Province of Ontario
416-325-8659
647-218-8659 (cell)
ciaran.ganley@ontario.ca

Jane Phillips
Manager
Business Enterprise Centre — Owen Sound and Area
519-371-3232

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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. Visit bizpal.ca for a complete list of participating jurisdictions.

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 in 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. Service Ontario, part of Ontario's Ministry of Government Services, is entrusted with engaging local governments to make this important service available across Ontario.

This interactive, smart permit and licence tool is featured on the Owen Sound and Area Business Enterprise Centre website.