April 30, 2014
Province Outlines Process on Transfer of Property Registry to Teranet
Manitoba Finance advises a document outlining the steps taken to protect the interests of Manitobans while developing a deal to transfer the Property Registry to Teranet Manitoba is now available online.
The document includes information on:
- features and functions of the Property Registry;
- reasons to proceed with the transfer;
- terms of the agreement;
- the decision to proceed with the transfer including the benefits of the agreement for Manitobans;
- determination of appropriateness of Teranet as the potential providers of this services and the fairness of the deal; and
- summary of the legal and licensing agreements anddetailsrequired for the sale including the development of a master agreement, the protection of jobs and offices, and rules for the oversight of Teranet Manitoba.
The transfer of the Property Registry to Teranet Manitoba was announced in December 2012. The agreement was officially signed in February 2014 and came into effect on March 28. Teranet has made a one-time payment and will pay annual royalties to the province in exchange for the exclusive licence to provide property registry services to Manitobans.
Highlights of the agreement include:
- Teranet will invest in new technology to ensure services such as titles, property searches and registrations will be available through a convenient, faster and secure online system;
-
Manitoba will receive annual royalty payments estimated to be $11 million, increasing to
$24 million at the end of the 30-year licensing agreement; - employees of the existing Property Registry have been transferred to the new firm and Teranet will protect employee benefits;
- increases in fees have been agreed upon so consumers will see stable and predictable changes and all existing Property Registry offices will remain open; and
- data used by Teranet, such as land survey and property titles, will continue to be owned by the province and protected by privacy legislation.
To view the document, visit www.gov.mb.ca/finance/pdf/teranet.pdf.
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