In 1997 a joint committee of the government of Nova Scotia and the private sector stakeholders began discussions about the need to modernize the real property system in Nova Scotia. Several workshops were held in 1997 and 1998 which brought together many of the major users of the current system, including the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society, Association of Nova Scotia Land Surveyors, Nova Scotia Real Estate Commission, Canadian Bankers Association, the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities, and many provincial departments.

The consensus of these workshops was that Nova Scotia’s antiquated real property system, which was based on the British names-based deeds registry system, should be modernized and streamlined to ensure that Nova Scotia residents, businesses and governments have access to services that meet or exceed Canadian and international standards. The goal of the Registry 2000 Project was two-fold:

   • to provide a streamlined, electronic system to facilitate recording, transferring and accessing records about real property in Nova Scotia, and
   • to provide a guarantee of title to land owners by implementing a land titles system.

Making the Vision a Reality
In March 2003, Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations began implementation of Nova Scotia’s new land registration system in the first county. Province-wide rollout was completed on March 1, 2005. This new system addresses the three key elements identified in the 1997 discussions:
   • A modernized land tenure system providing the user with integrated access to all land related information;
   • A system which provides users with electronic registration and remote access capabilities; and
   • A system which guarantees basic ownership rights.

 
To make further progress on this vision, the Registry 2000 Project is currently focusing on scanning 60 years of historic paper title documents to make those images available online for all subscribers of the Government’s online property information search engine, Property Online. Plans are also under way to scan recorded plans and make them available online in 2006-07.

 
Links to other land related information such as zoning, probate records and environmental information will be considered in the near future.

Land is a $58 billion asset in Nova Scotia, representing the foundation of much of the province's economic activity. For most individual Nova Scotians, the purchase of a parcel of land or a home represents the largest financial and legal transaction of their lifetime. For businesses, the ease and cost of identifying and acquiring suitable properties is critical to their competitive success. Government agencies also need accurate information about property rights in order to deliver public services to Nova Scotians.

 
The ability to firmly and quickly establish ownership and to allow secure and effective transfers is essential to the economic competitiveness of Nova Scotia in the modern world. The buying, selling, and refinancing of property is a significant component of the Nova Scotia economy.

Approximately 75 per cent of Nova Scotia's land is held in private ownership. There are more than 558,000 separate parcels of land in Nova Scotia. Interests (mortgages, ownership, and so on) in these properties change frequently. More than 125,000 transactions affecting real property are registered in the provincial Land Registration Offices each year. In addition, numerous, non-registered interests that affect real property, such as statutory liens, municipal zoning, property tax obligations, and environmental liabilities which affect real property, are also recorded.

Accurate, timely information about real property is essential for the delivery of many municipal and provincial programs and public services. Using information on land ownership as its base, the municipal property taxation system provides more than $510 million in revenues annually for services such as fire protection, policing, education, and snow removal. At the provincial government level, programs such as highway alignment, right-of-way management, emergency vehicle dispatch, resource management, property valuation, and environmental protection, all have requirements for property information.

Through the Registry 2000 Project, Nova Scotia is ensuring that its legislation and technology support an environment that is competitive with other Canadian jurisdictions.

View Across Canada
In Canada's western provinces, searches of historic records to establish the chain of title are not required because ownership and interests relating to each parcel have been recorded against the parcel instead of by the name of the interest holder since the early 1900s. The idea of linking ownership and interests to parcels rather than names was popularized by Robert Torrens, a politician responsible for reforming land registration in Australia in the mid-1800s. The Torrens (or land titles) system makes it much easier to determine ownership of a parcel of land, especially now that records are becoming electronically accessible.

 
Ontario is also in the process of shifting from a names-based deeds registry system to a land titles system and, at the same time, is implementing electronic property registration capabilities. New Brunswick completed the implementation of a land titles system across the province in 2001. Now that Nova Scotia has completed its province-wide implementation of land titles, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador will remain as the only Canadian jurisdictions that have exclusively names-based deed registry systems. Quebec has a somewhat different system due to its civil law background.

 
The Registry 2000 Project was established to modernize and streamline Nova Scotia’s 250-year-old names-based deed registry system and improve access to land records in the province. The smooth transfer of millions of dollars worth of Nova Scotia property into the new electronic system will help Nova Scotia compete effectively at home and around the world.