Governments of Canada, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Lloydminster Deliver New BizPaL Service

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

LLOYDMINSTER, Alberta, March 19, 2010 — Starting and running a business in the City of Lloydminster 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, Leon Benoit, Member of Parliament for Vegreville–Wainwright, on behalf of the Honourable Rob Moore, Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism), together with the Honourable Lloyd Snelgrove, President of Treasury Board for Alberta, on behalf of the Honourable Heather Klimchuk, Minister of Service Alberta, the Honourable Ken Cheveldayoff, Saskatchewan Minister of Enterprise, and Jeff Mulligan, Mayor of Lloydminster, welcomed the launch of BizPaL in the City of Lloydminster.

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 City of Lloydminster was developed by Lloydminster, the Provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, and the Government of Canada.

“Through Canada's Economic Action Plan, our government is demonstrating our commitment to Canada's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by improving access to financing and cutting the red tape businesses face every day,” said Mr. Benoit. “BizPaL is a great example of the government's hard work to support SMEs across Canada as they innovate, create jobs and generate wealth in our communities.”

“Bringing BizPaL to Lloydminster has been an excellent example of how Alberta and Saskatchewan can work together with the federal and local government to make it easier for entrepreneurs to get their businesses up and running,” said Minister Klimchuk. “As the economy starts to gain ground, it's efforts like this that will give our communities a competitive advantage.”

“If we can minimize the time Saskatchewan business people spend looking for permits and licences, they in turn can maximize the time they spend growing their businesses and thereby growing our economy,” said Minister Cheveldayoff. “The BizPaL service opens up Saskatchewan for local as well as national and international entrepreneurs, as they will be able to do what is required of them at the click of a mouse.”

“The world of legislation, red tape and legal, financial, accounting and reporting requirements is enough to make the small and medium-sized business owners throw up their hands in frustration” said Mayor Mulligan. “The BizPaL team and directive is right on target for streamlining processes that enable business leaders and owners to focus their energy in much more productive areas to create sustainable benefits. We are excited to launch this initiative and look forward to the future evolution of BizPaL in our community.”

Area business owners and entrepreneurs can access the service by visiting the Service Alberta BizPaL website or the Saskatchewan BizPaL Service website. The Province of Alberta 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:

Catherine Godbout
Office of the Honourable Rob Moore
Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism)
613-943-7023
613-668-5406 (cell)

Media Relations
Industry Canada
613-943-2502

Mike Berezowsky
Communications
Service Alberta
780-415-6051

Tim Tororey
Communications
Enterprise Saskatchewan
306-787-5582

Ward Read
Community Development Officer
City of Lloydminster
780-875-6184 ext. 2702
wread@lloydminster.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 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 400 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 at the Service Alberta BizPaL website and the Saskatchewan BizPaL Service website. Visit the BizPaL website for a complete list of participating jurisdictions.