News Release Archive
BUSINESS/CONSUMER SERVICES-LICENCE,PERMIT SYSTEM TO BE SIMPLIFIED
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The provincial government is making it easier for Nova Scotians
to obtain licences, permits and approvals they need to conduct
their business.
Ms. Sandy Jolly, minister for business and consumer services,
said today the government has accepted the recommendations of the
Licences, Permits and Approvals (LPA) Task Force. "The task force
has made 36 policy recommendations that, when implemented, will
significantly reduce the hassle factor' faced by consumers in
obtaining the LPAs required of them by government," said Ms.
Jolly.
Of the 36 recommendations, 21 focus on improving service delivery
and 15 focus on improving government administration of LPAs.
"Many of these can be implemented within six months and we have
already started on some of them," said the minister. "What they
all have in common is that collectively they will reduce the
hassle faced by consumers when obtaining or renewing their LPAs."
Highlights of the recommendations include:
- installment payments and payment by debit and credit card.
- Departments to review their LPAs every five years.
- Simpler application forms and processes.
- Longer "shelf life" for most LPAs.
- Renewal dates that are more convenient for the user.
- A help-line phone number on all application forms.
The task force included representatives from several departments
and reviewed 288 provincial government LPAs. The members were
assisted by an advisory group co-chaired by Peter O'Brien of the
Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
"This report places Nova Scotia in the forefront nationally in
the battle to simplify the relationship between government and
business," said Mr. O'Brien. "The recommendations of the task
force will have a major impact on Nova Scotia business which will
continue to see improvements in paper burden and regulation as
the changes move through the system."
A second part of the task force's mandate was to recommend which
of the 288 LPAs could be eliminated and which could be combined
or changed in other ways.
"Every one of these LPAs was put under the microscope," Ms. Jolly
said. "Each LPA was tested against a number of criteria,
including whether the LPA was intended to protect the public or a
resource, whether the LPA overlaps another, and can the issue be
handled without an LPA. As a result of the task force's work,
about one-third of the LPAs will be affected."
Of the 288 LPAs reviewed, 22 will be eliminated, 14 will be
combined into five separate LPAs, and 27 will be bundled, meaning
a consumer may buy any or all of a group of related licences.
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Contact: David MacNeil
Business and Consumer Services
902-424-2933
trp Apr. 30, 1997 - 10:35 a.m.
