PEACHLAND JOINS THE BIZPAL NETWORK

PEACHLAND – Opening a new business in the District of Peachland 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.

The launch of BizPaL in Peachland was welcomed today by Stockwell Day, Minister for Public Safety and MP for Okanagan-Coquihalla, on behalf of Jim Prentice, Minister of Industry; together with Okanagan-Westside MLA Rick Thorpe; and District of Peachland deputy mayor Jean Fraser.

“Small businesses are a major engine of our economy, and this is why the government’s economic plan, Advantage Canada, seeks to create an entrepreneurial environment where small businesses can thrive,” said Day. “The Government of Canada is pleased to be working with the Province of British Columbia and the District of Peachland to promote a more competitive and productive local economy by providing easy access to essential information and reducing paperwork costs for business.”

“I am pleased to see our three levels of government are working together on behalf of taxpayers by bringing BizPaL to Peachland,” said Thorpe. “Small businesses are key to making our local economy competitive and productive. BizPaL will support Peachland’s small businesses by providing easy access to essential information, reducing paperwork and saving time.”

BizPaL is an innovative project that provides entrepreneurs with simplified access to the information on permits and licences that 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.

“This will be an excellent addition to the services we offer our small business community,” said District of Peachland mayor Graham Reid. “BizPaL will allow our entrepreneurs a more streamlined and simplified start-up process.”

“BizPaL is a user-friendly, time-saving tool designed to cut red tape and reflects our government’s commitment to making British Columbia Canada’s most small-business-friendly jurisdiction,” said Kevin Krueger, Minister of Small Business and Revenue and Minister responsible for Regulatory Reform. “Our goal through this unique partnership with the District of Peachland and Industry Canada is to help local businesses spend more time growing their businesses and less time dealing with government regulations.”

The BizPaL service in Peachland was developed with the support of Industry Canada, in collaboration with the District of Peachland and the Province of British Columbia. Area business owners and entrepreneurs can access the service by visiting www.peachland.ca/services/bizpal/online_services.htm.

The BizPaL program was recently recognized for its successes with a Premier’s Innovation and Excellence award in the Partnerships category. The goal is to have BizPaL available to all municipalities in British Columbia by 2010.

Visit www.bcBizPaL.ca for additional project history and information and to access the websites of participating partners.

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Media

contact:

Christine Wood

Communications Director

Ministry of Small Business and Revenue

250 387-4193

Catherine Godbout

Office of the Honourable Diane Ablonczy, Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism)

613 947-5856

Jean Fraser

Deputy Mayor

District of Peachland

250 767-2647

Media Relations

Industry Canada

613 943-2502

For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca.