PRINCETON JOINS THE BIZPAL NETWORK

PRINCETON — Opening a new business in the Town of Princeton 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 Princeton was welcomed today by the Honourable Diane Ablonczy, Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism), on behalf of the Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of Industry; together with Rick Thorpe, MLA for Okanagan-Westside; and Princeton Mayor Randy McLean.

“The Government of Canada is pleased to be working with the Province of British Columbia and the Town of Princeton to provide ways that make it easier for area businesses to have access to essential information and reduce paperwork costs,” said Secretary of State Ablonczy. “This approach is consistent with other measures announced in Budget 2008 and in our overall economic plan, Advantage Canada, which will provide an innovative and entrepreneurial business environment for Canadians.”

“I am pleased to see our three levels of government are working together on behalf of taxpayers by bringing BizPaL to Princeton,” said Thorpe. “Small businesses are key to making our local economy competitive and productive. BizPaL will support Princeton’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.

"We want to give businesses every encouragement to flourish in our community, and BizPaL will be an excellent first step for those starting out," said McLean. “I’d like to thank council for their support in bringing BizPaL to Princeton.”

“BizPaL is a user-friendly, time-saving tool to help cut red tape and reflect 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. “This is what can be achieved when all levels of government work together in partnership.”

The BizPaL service in Princeton was developed with the support of Industry Canada, in collaboration with the Town of Princeton and the Province of British Columbia. Area business owners and entrepreneurs can access the service by visiting www.bcbizpal.ca.

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:

Catherine Godbout

Office of the Honourable Diane Ablonczy

Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism)

613 947-5856

Media Relations

Industry Canada

613 943-2502

Christine Wood

Communications Director

Ministry of Small Business and Revenue, Province of British Columbia

250 387-4193

Randy McLean

Mayor

Town of Princeton

250 295-5478

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.