News Release Archive
BUSINESS/CONSUMER SERVICES--VITAL STATISTICS IS ON THE MOVE ----------------------------------------------------------------- The Department of Business and Consumer Services has announced that the Vital Statistics office is moving -- but just down the street. The unit is moving from the Provincial Building, Hollis Street, to a more spacious location in the Joseph Howe Building, 1690 Hollis Street, half a block from the current Vital Statistics address. The office will be closed Friday, Dec. 13 and Monday, Dec. 16 to facilitate the move. Doors will open at the new address Tuesday, Dec. 17. "Everyone in the province, at some point or another, has to deal with the Vital Statistics office," said Business and Consumer Services Minister Sandy Jolly. "The new office, in which all records will be located close to the counter, will mean more efficient service to the public." The mailing address, phone and fax numbers for Vital Statistics will not change: P.O. Box 157, Halifax, N.S., B3J 2M9. Phone: (902) 424-4381. Fax: (902) 424-0678. Vital Statistics is best known for issuing birth certificates, but is also responsible for registering the marriages, deaths and stillbirths which occur each year in Nova Scotia. It processes approximately 27,000 applications annually. In addition to the head office staff, division registrars and deputy issuers of marriage licences are located in communities throughout the province. "When we call ourselves Business and Consumer Services, we emphasize the service,'" said Ms. Jolly. "We are continually developing new programs and ways to deliver them to Nova Scotians." The Department of Business and Consumer Services was created in April, 1996. The department's mandate is to provide citizens and businesses in the province with better access to the services and programs most commonly needed by the public. The department is home to the following divisions: Registry of Motor Vehicles, Consumer and Commercial Relations, Financial Institutions, Nova Scotia Government Bookstore, Public Enquiries, Provincial Tax Commission, Registry of Joint Stock Companies, Vital Statistics, and Access Nova Scotia. -30- Contact: Louise MacDonald 902-424-0394 trp Dec. 10, 1996 - 4:18 p.m.