Business Licence Bylaw Update (2022)

We are excited to announce that our first major updates to the Beaumont Business Licence Bylaw since 2014 were approved by our City Council. The newly updated Business Licence Bylaw will streamline and simplify the process in a number of areas while still delivering what we need to support you, our business community. 

The Business Licence program supports the City in having up-to-date information and data around the makeup of our business community. This information allows us to make informed decisions around economic development programming, planning, communications, and other municipal projects and services. This data also assists the City in our investment attraction efforts, our marketing strategy, and it is also valuable in supporting a broad range of grant and program applications. 

The new Business Licence Bylaw can be viewed HERE.

  1. 2022 Bylaw Updates
  2. FAQ Updates

2022 Updates Introduced:

  • Uses language for definitions, terms and conditions, fines and enforcements to align with other City bylaws.
  • Simplifies the types of business licence with corresponding fees and charges.  The Business Licence Fees will remain unchanged for Home-Based, Commercial/Industrial and Non-Resident. 
  • Other areas have been streamlined in this updated Bylaw for ease of administration and there have also been minor amendments to the associated fees. Overall, this simplified process is more business friendly.
  • Offers flexibility to charge a business the licence fee by pro-rating it to the annual yearly quarter in which a new Business Licence is being paid versus just the current full-year or 50% option in place. 
  • Introduces Restricted Substance Retail as defined by the Land Use Bylaw.
  • Seeks to clarify to an applicant that a Business Licence will be issued once the applicant has successfully received acknowledgement of regulatory requirements (such as a development permit) required by the City and/or Provincial Legislation.
  • Updated application forms for “new” and “renewals” will increase administrative efficiency and enhance client relations. The processing of all applications will now take place within a single department (Economic Development) allowing for a focus on building strong business relations.
  • Seeks to simplify and eliminate interpretation of the Bylaw when applying fees and charges to the business licence type and follows through to the Business Licence Fees & Charges Bylaw.
  • Improves community safety through the implementation of a requirement that Door-to-Door Sales be licenced under the Consumer Protections Act and their representative will require a police check and vulnerable sectors check to be presented with the application of the Business Licence and fee imposed for each representative to ensure they are a registered person within the applicant’s organization.
  • Provides clarity around the enforcement of any Business Licence Bylaw violations through identifying fines and penalties that can be administered by Administration to enforce compliance by Businesses of this Bylaw where failure to obtain or pay the licence fee can be managed.  Where revoking, suspending or cancellation of a Business Licence is a more serious nature, these situations will be directed to the City of Beaumont Chief Administrative Officer as the designated Licence Inspector.  The Licence Inspector then has the opportunity to evaluate a reported offense on a case-by-case basis with municipal regulations or provincial regulations.  The municipal violation would be issued through a Violation Tag and be fined at a flat rate of $500.00.   An offense under the Provincial or Federal Regulations would be fined through a Violation Ticket and the associated cost of that violation would be determined by the Provincial Offences Procedures Act.