VICTORIA - A new independent authority will improve and expand the province's land title and survey system, Sustainable Resource Management Minister George Abbott announced today.
"We expect this authority to bring better service levels and better technology for the future development of the system, while assuring continued accountability to the public", said Abbott.
Legislation to create the authority will ensure that its business plan and financial statements are public documents, Abbott said. Its financial contribution to government revenues will be open to debate in the Legislature every year.
The continuing boom in real estate transactions has pushed service demand up by as much as 30 per cent. In late 2003, the Law Society of BC suggested that government set up a not-for-profit authority as a way of improving service. Government has accepted that suggestion and expanded it to include survey as well as land title service.
"I congratulate the government for taking up our proposal," said William Everett, QC, president of the Law Society. "Every user of these services will benefit from this initiative."
Government consulted a wide range of interested groups in developing the plan, including the First Nations Summit, the Law Society, the Canadian Bar Association, the Corporation of Land Surveyors of B.C., the Union of BC Municipalities, the B.C. Real Estate Association, the Society of Notaries Public of BC, the BC Association of Professional Registry Agents, and the Better Business Bureau of Vancouver Island.
The authority's governing board will be appointed as trustees by user groups, Abbott said. The authority is expected to begin operation in the fall of this year.
Its headquarters will be located in Victoria, and the Victoria land title office will remain open. All current government employees will be eligible to transfer to the authority with existing union, collective agreement and pension benefits.
British Columbia's land title and survey systems are recognized as being among the best in the world. However, other jurisdictions such as Alberta, New Zealand and Australia are moving to provide faster, easier access for users.
"Government is committed to developing such a system by 2007," Abbott said. "We think the management expertise and flexibility of an authority would help reach this goal."
The authority will be financed out of user fees, with a fixed percentage of each transaction fee passed on directly to government revenue. Fee increases of approximately $2 to $5 will improve service levels and put the authority on a sound financial footing, Abbott said. Future fee increases would be limited to the cost of living, unless approved by an independent, expert third party.
Accountability of the new authority to the public and legislature will be assured through the provincial legislation establishing the authority. It will include public reporting of the business plan and financial statements, oversight of the fees set by the authority by an independent expert third party and scrutiny of the revenue submitted by the authority to government through debate in the legislature.
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Media: Graham Currie
Contact:
Communications Director
Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management
250 356-2862
