News Release Archive

BUSINESS/CONSUMER SERVICES--VITAL STATISTICS IS ON THE MOVE
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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.

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Contact: Louise MacDonald  902-424-0394

trp                        Dec. 10, 1996 - 4:18 p.m.