Region taking over business licencing responsibilities

NRP will give up overseeing taxis, tow trucks and strippers

Starting June 4, if you are in Niagara and need a business licences for taxis, tow trucks, second-hand stores or adult entertainment, you will be heading to a new location.

The Niagara Region will be opening a new business licensing office in Niagara Falls as part of a takeover of the service from the Niagara Regional Police.

The business licensing office will operate on the second floor of 5853 Peer St., in Niagara Falls.

Previously, residents had been going to the Niagara Regional Police Business Licensing Branch, at police headquarters, 5700 Valley Way, Niagara Falls.

The Region has jurisdiction over licensing for those business activities but had delegated the authority to the police.

The Region’s move suggests a trend to having the police concentrate on their core areas of service — and shed some of their ancillary responsibilities.

The takeover also aligns Niagara with the rest of the province. The Niagara Regional Police were one of the last police services in Ontario issuing and enforcing the rules attached to the licenses.

The Region will also take over licencing transportation network companies (rideshares), auto wreckers and salvage yards, and oversee and licence the adult entertainment industry in St. Catharines, Niagara Falls, Thorold, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Welland and Fort Erie and the body rub industry in St. Catharines and Niagara Falls.

As part of the transition, there will be no licence processing on Monday, June 3.

Licences expiring from June 1 to 3 should be renewed before 3:30 p.m. on Friday, May 31, at the police headquarters in Niagara Falls.

The Peer Street office in Niagara Falls will open June 4. It will operate from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday to Friday, or by appointment.