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Legislative Assembly briefs Streamlined services at land titles Jeanne Gagnon Northern News Services Published Monday, March 18, 2013 In the first phase of the project, the land titles office allowed documents to be sent electronically, reducing registration times from several weeks to 48 hours, he said.
"Land titles paper submissions will become a thing of the past," said Shewchuk.
POLAR features real-time searches, automatic registration notification and online billing. The system will lead to faster real-estate transactions and stimulate growth, he added.
With the elimination of paper submissions, registration wait times will be further reduced to 24 hours, according to information the department provided. It will also eliminate 90 per cent of clerical errors that delay registration, it also stated.
Schell questions premier on staff
Five staff members working in the premier's office are costing taxpayers $1.2 million, according to South Baffin MLA Fred Schell.
The MLA asked Premier Eva Aariak on March 8 to indicate the job titles of the five staff members in her office.
Aariak said she has a press secretary, executive assistant, two executive secretaries and a special adviser, working from Ottawa to be closer to the federal government.
"I had stated I needed more assistance," Aariak said on March 8. "The federal leaders have so many staff and we don't have that many."
The special adviser, who is not a beneficiary of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, has been working since the fall of 2011, added Aariak when Schell asked for more details. Further questioned by Schell, Aariak said the position was not advertised because the person is not part of the public service but is a political staff person.
When Schell asked about the individual's qualifications and political experience, Aariak responded the person understands Nunavut's reality because he has worked in the North for many years.
"He was hired due to his qualifications and experience dealing with the federal government, as well as their officials, including Inuit in Nunavut as well as their counterparts in the NWT."
Aariak admitted the person had previously worked for her but did not receive any contracts from the Department of the Executive or the premier's office.
Schell then asked whether the person had helped her during her political campaign, which Aariak answered she "may have consulted him."
On March 12, Schell asked Aariak to elaborate on the experience the special adviser has in Ottawa.
"According to what I remember, I didn't say whether he had worked for the federal government," said Aariak. "I just said he had working experience with the NWT and also the Nunavut government. This is what I was talking about. I was saying he had experience in these territories."
Report notes fire deaths
Firefighters responded to 157 fires which left six people dead, 20 injured and caused more than $16.8 million in damages across Nunavut last year, according to the Office of the Fire Marshal's 2012 annual report.
There were seven more fires last year compared to 2011 and more than the past five-year average of 129, stated the report. Last year's $16.8 million in damages is significantly less than the $53 million reported in 2011, stated the report.
"The loss of community infrastructure, associated financial significance and most importantly, fatalities, are substantial enough for Nunavummiut to strive towards the elimination of all fires," the report stated.
More than two-thirds of the fires, or 58 out of 157, are considered arson, with 32 of them deemed suspicious and four were started by children younger than 11, stated the report.
Fires to residential properties top the list of structures affected, with 70 out of the 157 fires, or 45 per cent, causing more than $10 million in damages, states the report. Smoker's material, matches, lighters and open flame accounted for 90 out of 157 fires, or 57 per cent, causing more than $10 million in damages, according to the report.
Fires happened more frequently in July, August and September as well as during the day, stated the report. And, 103 out of the 157 fires, or 66 per cent, of the fires happened in the Baffin region, with 46 of them in Iqaluit. More than $9 million in damages were recorded in the territorial capital alone, states the report.
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