Services to Improve in Antigonish

Better and more convenient access to government services is coming to residents of the Antigonish area when an Access Nova Scotia opens later this year in the town, Business and Consumer Services Minster Keith Colwell announced today.

The Department of Business and Consumer Services is establishing the Access Nova Scotia centre, which will consolidate services of the Registry of Motor Vehicles, Consumer and Commercial Relations, government information services and Registry of Joint Stock Companies services.

The centre will offer full motor vehicle registration and driver licensing services, which Antigonish residents currently receive at the Registry of Motor Vehicles office on the Trans-Canada Highway. Access staff will also be able to assist with consumer complaints and inquiries, residential tenancies issues (such as disputes between landlords and tenants), and debt counselling and management. Staff will also offer information about government programs and services and provide access to many of the services of the Registry of Joint Stock Companies.

"Similar centres were opened in Halifax, Dartmouth and Kentville last year," Mr. Colwell said. "The objective behind Access Nova Scotia is that all the most frequently required transactions with government may conducted under one roof. We also plan to open a centre in Yarmouth later this year as well.

"In Antigonish, existing staff in the area will be operating out of a new facility," the minister said. "No jobs will be lost in the community, and government is not getting any bigger. We're simply using our existing financial and human resources to deliver better and more convenient service to Nova Scotians."

Tenders were called this week for office space in Antigonish with the opening planned for later this year.