Starting a business in B.C. is even easier now that 32 municipalities are approving business licences through the OneStop business registration program, announced the Honourable Ron J. Duhamel, Minister of Veteran Affairs and Secretary of State (Western Economic Diversification) (Francophonie), and Gerard Janssen, B.C. minister of small business, tourism
and culture.

OneStop is a federal-provincial program in B.C. that allows entrepreneurs to use an interactive computer workstation to register with the most often-used federal and provincial agencies. Business owners can now also use the program to apply for municipal business
licences in all 32 participating municipalities.

"OneStop has been in place for less than five years, and already, it has helped more than 24,000 entrepreneurs save both time and money," said Mr. Duhamel. "I congratulate the local governments who have come on side to make business registration in B.C. even more attractive for entrepreneurs."

The OneStop software guides entrepreneurs through the process of entering the required information and automatically forwards the information to the appropriate agency. Simultaneous registration with three levels of government takes as little as 20 minutes.

"The municipal partnership is an exciting development in the expansion of OneStop,"
said Janssen. "Business and municipalities will be better served by this additional service."
Municipalities have streamlined and standardized their licence application process to participate in OneStop's integrated service.

The municipalities participating in the OneStop project are Burnaby, Burns Lake, Campbell River, Chilliwack, Duncan, Kamloops, Langley City, Langley Township, Maple Ridge, New Hazelton, The District of North Vancouver, Oliver, Osoyoos, Pitt Meadows, Prince George, Princeton, Telkwa, Terrace, West Vancouver and all the municipalities in Greater Victoria (Colwood, Esquimalt, The Highlands, Langford, Metchosin, North Saanich, Oak Bay, Central Saanich, Saanich, Sidney, Sooke, Victoria and View Royal).

"The addition of business licensing to the OneStop program provides business with a time-saving way to meet some basic business requirements of all three levels of government," said Burnaby Mayor Doug Drummond. "This improved service supports the growth of the local business community by streamlining the registration and application processes."

Services available through the OneStop program include registrations with the federal government for GST, payroll deductions and import/export accounts. Provincial registration is available for the PST, corporate income tax, company registration, and the Workers Compensation Board.

It is estimated that another 60 municipalities will be added to the OneStop program by
this fall. For more information on OneStop services and locations, go to www.onestopbc.ca
on the Internet.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Heather Smart, Media Relations
Ministry of Small Business, Tourism and Culture
250-356-2842

 J.P. Roy, Communications
Western Economic Diversification
604-666-1318