(Glenn Hicks/paNOW Staff)

By Glenn Hicks

office closures

Land title offices to close in P.A. and Humboldt

Sep 20, 2019 | 2:27 PM

Three land titles offices in Prince Albert, Humboldt and Yorkton are being shut down, impacting a total of 14 jobs.

Information Services Corporation (ISC) says it’s due to changes in customer behaviour, but local officials are unhappy about the loss of good-paying jobs and what they see as the further erosion of direct public services.

ISC is the provider of Saskatchewan registries on behalf of the province. The closures will see the loss of six positions at their South Hill Mall office in Prince Albert, and four at the Geschaft Centre in Humboldt. Another four jobs will be lost in Yorkton when the offices shut Friday, Oct. 4.

“We see fewer customers accessing counter service and there’s increasing use of online services,” Shea Haverstock, a spokesman for ICS told paNOW. “With the shifting economics of our business we’re adjusting operations.”

Haverstock said while some transactions are still happening at the counter, the company was “first and foremost dedicated to ensuring customers receive the support and service they’ve come to expect from ISC.”

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He said they could access that service through online applications and telephone support.

Prince Albert faces more government closures

However, the decision to close the offices is not sitting well with local governments.

“I think it’s a sad situation … we had the closure or STC, our [North Sask.] laundry services, and now the land titles,” Acting Mayor of Prince Albert Don Cody told paNOW. “We’re the third largest city in the province and this is what happens to us?”

Cody said P.A. pays taxes and he was puzzled by the decision, suggesting the province was “poking a stick in our eye.”

He said it was direct convenience and face-to-face service to the public that was being lost, despite ISC saying most people can go online.

“We owe it to the people here in the North to offer this service,” he said, adding he’d be complaining to the company but doubts it would help much.

Humboldt fears knock-on effect

Humboldt Mayor Rob Muench said the news was disappointing as would lead to the loss of a key community service, jobs, and perhaps even residents.

“These jobs were important,” he told northeastNOW. “The City of Humboldt used their services quite a bit, so it’s going to make things difficult for our residents and the city as well. I know a lot of the staff that worked there personally. They all have families and spouses here as well …it’s definitely going to be a loss to the city.”

Muench added it was unfortunate locals who paid the same taxes as those living in bigger centres had to live their lives with fewer services.

From a business perspective, Executive Director of the Humboldt and District Chamber of Commerce Brent Fitzpatrick also called the ISC closures disappointing.

“Its very nature has a ripple-down economic effect right throughout our business community,” Fitzpatrick said. “It doesn’t seem like a lot, but these are well-paid positions; people that do invest in the community. That income is lost.”

Union responds

In a media release the SGEU said three additional positions would be abolished at the Regina Customer Service Centre as well.

“These offices and members provided hands-on expertise to the public, which unfortunately will no longer be available in these communities. These are dedicated workers who are experts in their field, and while some services are now online, a computer simply cannot replace the expertise these members provided to the public,” President Bob Bymoen said.

With files from Aaron Schulze at northeastNOW.

Editor’s note: this story was amended Monday Sept.23. ISC contacted us to say six jobs were being affected in P.A. and four in Humboldt. On Friday they said four jobs in P.A. and six in Humboldt were impacted.

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glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow