AMHERST, N.S. – Cumberland North MLA Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin is calling on the Houston government to stop the closure of the Amherst Land Registration Office and keep the regional service in Cumberland County.
The Province has advised Land Registry users that the Amherst office will close and the regional Land Registration service will move to Truro effective Monday, August 24.
“This is a provincial service being taken out of Cumberland County, with only days’ notice and no public explanation,” said Smith-McCrossin. “The Houston government needs to stop this decision and keep the Land Registration Office in Amherst.”
The Amherst office serves as the Land Registration Office for the North region, which includes Cumberland, Colchester, Pictou and Antigonish counties.
Amherst was deliberately selected as the regional location when the Province consolidated Land Registration Offices in 2015. At the time, government specifically considered regional fairness and the distribution of provincial jobs and services after Cumberland County had lost provincial positions.
“That history matters,” said Smith-McCrossin. “Government recognized the importance of maintaining provincial jobs and services in Cumberland County and made a deliberate decision to locate this regional office in Amherst. Now, without any meaningful public explanation, that decision is being reversed and the service is being centralized in Truro.”
While many Land Registry transactions are completed electronically, many documents still require original paper documents or certified copies. Once the Amherst office closes, local law offices and other users will have to send those documents to Truro, potentially adding courier costs, travel and delays to transactions.
Local legal professionals have also raised concerns about losing direct access to experienced Land Registry staff and the established working relationships that help resolve complicated land registration issues.
“Government may call this an administrative change, but for Cumberland County it means losing a service,” said Smith-McCrossin. “The costs and inconvenience don’t disappear when government centralizes a service. They are simply transferred to the people and businesses who have to use it.”
Smith-McCrossin is also questioning why such a significant decision was made with so little notice and apparently without meaningful consultation with those who use the Amherst office.
“If there is a business case behind this decision, government should release it,” said Smith-McCrossin. “Tell us how much money this supposedly saves, how many transactions are handled in Amherst, how many employees are affected and who in Cumberland County was consulted. But none of that changes my position that this service belongs in Cumberland County and should remain here.”
Smith-McCrossin said the Province still has time to stop the closure before it takes effect Monday.
“Cumberland County should not have to fight to keep provincial services in our communities,” said Smith-McCrossin. “Once these services are centralized somewhere else, they rarely come back. Minister Balser should stop this move now and keep the Land Registration Office in Amherst.”