ROSSLAND JOINS THE BIZPAL NETWORK

ROSSLAND – Opening a new business in the City of Rossland 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 Rossland was welcomed today by Jim Abbott, MP for Kootenay-Columbia, on behalf of Tony Clement, Minister of Industry, together with officials from the Province of British Columbia and Rossland Mayor Greg Granstrom.

“I am glad to see BizPaL extended to more communities in British Columbia. It’s an example of government making things easier for Canadians,” said Abbott. “At a time of global economic uncertainty, we need to do everything we can to help Canadian businesses, especially small businesses, which create so many of our new jobs. BizPaL is a simple, cost-effective way to provide that kind of practical help.”

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.

“BizPaL is a user-friendly, time-saving tool that cuts 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. “This is what can be achieved when all levels of government work together in partnership.”

“I’m proud our municipality can now offer this innovative BizPaL service to our small business community, to help them save time and access the information needed to start their businesses,” said Granstrom.

The BizPaL service in Rossland was developed with the support of Industry Canada, in collaboration with the City of Rossland and the Province of British Columbia. Area business owners and entrepreneurs can access the service by visiting http://rossland.ca/siteengine/activepage.asp?PageID=117.

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 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

Christine Wood

Communications Director

Ministry of Small Business and Revenue

250 387-4193

Media Relations

Industry Canada

613 943-2502

Ron Campbell

Chief Administrative Officer

City of Rossland

250 362-2324

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.