News Release
HRM Partners With Province, CBRM on Data- Sharing
(Tuesday, May 13/2003)-- Halifax Regional Municipality is partnering with the Government of Nova Scotia and the Cape Breton Regional Municipality on a unique new data sharing agreement, it was announced today.
George McLellan, Chief Administrative Officer, said the proposed agreement covers basic property-related data, such as civic addressing, building permit information, property mapping, assessment data and voter lists.
The new pact will streamline the sharing of data, eliminate duplication in the collection and maintenance of property information and improve the quality of data. The three parties have been negotiating the agreement for the past year and it is expected to be signed on Thursday.
Mr. McLellan said "What this agreement enables us to due is gather the data once, and re-use it many times, in a variety of ways, for many programs and projects. There is little point in three separate government officials walking down the same street, to essentially gather the same information. That is inefficient and unacceptable in today's world."
HRM and the Province have an existing data-sharing agreement, dating back to 1998, that provides for a one-way transfer of property-related data from the Province to the municipality. It does not include the exchange or transfer of municipally-generated data to the Province.
Jerry Ryan, Chief Administrative Officer for CBRM, said " This is truly a milestone when the two largest municipalities in Nova Scotia join forces with the Province to gather and share information. This is an important first step, and all parties look forward to expanding the terms of this agreement in the future, to include such things as Registry of Motor Vehicles information, thematic mapping layers and existing land use information."
Under terms of the new agreement, the parties will work together to develop an action plan for implementation. A stakeholder committee will be formed to encourage consultation and participation with, and among, the various government departments, business units and agencies that will benefit from the new arrangement.
The nine sets of data included in the agreement are:
-30--
George McLellan
HRM Chief Administrative Officer
(902) 490-4026
Jerry Ryan
CBRM Chief Administrative Officer
(902) 563-5006
