BizPaL Launched in the City of Camrose and Camrose County, Alberta

CAMROSE, Alberta, November 13, 2009 — Starting and running a business in the City of Camrose and Camrose County 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, Kevin Sorenson, Member of Parliament for Crowfoot, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Ablonczy, Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism), together with Clarence Mastel, Mayor of Camrose, and Don Gregorwich, Reeve of Camrose County, welcomed the launch of BizPaL in Camrose, 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 Camrose and Camrose County was developed by the City of Camrose, Camrose County, the Province of Alberta and the Government of Canada.

“BizPaL is part of our government’s plan to support innovation and cut red tape,” said Mr. Sorenson. “Small businesses are a major engine of our economy. BizPaL will help small businesses grow and drive economic growth and job creation here and across Canada.”

“Camrose was recently recognized as one of the top 10 national leaders in small business growth,” said the Honourable Heather Klimchuk, Minister of Service Alberta. “BizPaL will help the community maintain that advantage by making it easier for entrepreneurs to start or expand their business.”

“BizPaL is a remarkable information source for entrepreneurs because it greatly simplifies what can be a time-consuming and frustrating search for information for anyone considering beginning a business,” said Reeve Gregorwich. “BizPaL is a great example of all levels of government working together to benefit business. Outstanding!”

“The City of Camrose is pleased to offer the BizPaL service on its new website,” said Mayor Mastel. “It is one more example of our expanding ‛E-Services,’ and should help to make Camrose even more accessible to business interests.”

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

Visit the Government of Canada’s 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 Diane Ablonczy
Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism)
613-947-5856

Media Relations
Industry Canada
613-943-2502

Mike Berezowsky
Communications
Service Alberta
780-415-6051

Ted Gillespie
City Engineer
City of Camrose
780-672-4428

Anjah Howard
Manager of Planning and Development
Camrose County
780-672-4446

---

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 350 municipalities offering the service to over 50 percent of the Canadian population.

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 Service Alberta’s BizPaL website. Visit the Government of Canada’s BizPaL website for a complete list of participating jurisdictions.