Saskatchewan will soon have the most advanced land information system in Canada with the establishment of the Land Information Services Corporation.

The new Crown Corporation will be responsible for completing the Land Titles Automated Network Development Project (LAND Project). The LAND Project will automate Saskatchewan's outdated paper-based land titles system and integrate it with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology.

In addition to providing the public with a superior land registration system, the corporation will also seek markets for the new products and services made possible because of the new integrated land information system. Its head office will be in Regina.

Fraser Nicholson, most recently the Deputy Minister of Economic and Co-operative Development, has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer. Nicholson brings 25 years of public sector experience in Saskatchewan and Atlantic Canada, including work on the development of Service New Brunswick, which provides access to government programming through a network of electronic service channels and 'one stop' service centres.

"A commercial Crown corporation is the most efficient management structure for completing the planning, development and implementation of Saskatchewan's new land information system," Crown Investments Corporation Minister John Nilson said. "I am pleased to have a public servant of Mr. Nicholson's wide experience available to lead the new corporation."

The Saskatchewan Land Information Services Corporation assumes the assets and operations of the provincial land titles system, previously part of Saskatchewan Justice, as well as the SaskGeomatics Division of Saskatchewan Property Management Corporation.

"The LAND Project will establish Saskatchewan as a leader in land information systems and provide a platform for the future on-line delivery of many other government services," Justice Minister Chris Axworthy said. "The new system will offer simpler, more accessible service and consistent 24 to 48 hour title registration processing across the province. The integration with GIS technology will allow users to see computerized images of parcels of land, and allow for future access to other information about that land such as forest, soil and water cover."

President of the Law Society of Saskatchewan Randy Baker said, "The legal profession has been actively involved with the LAND Project and welcomes all measures that facilitate the successful delivery of a modern land information system."

"The real estate industry is anxious to see this vital automation project completed in order to provide the industry, and all buyers and sellers of property, with improved province-wide access and service," Saskatchewan Real Estate Association Executive Vice-President Kirk Bacon said.

"The successful completion of this project is vital to the future economic development of the province, as improved access to integrated information about all land will speed up everything from real estate transactions, to geological surveys, to new economic development projects," Saskatchewan Land Surveyors Association President Roy Pominville said.

"The creation of the Saskatchewan Land Information Services Corporation is an important demonstration of the government's commitment to Saskatchewan's information technology industry. The LAND Project will create employment opportunities for system developers, data entry and GIS experts, providing local information technology workers important experience with leading edge technology," Managing Director of the Saskatchewan Division of EDS Systemhouse Dennis Poulin said, the company responsible for the design and implementation of the new system.

The LAND Project will provide 384 person-years of employment over the next three years to information technology workers.

Fraser Nicholson
Chief Executive Officer
Saskatchewan Land Information Services Corporation
Regina
Phone: (306) 787-9841