Fisheries and Land Resources Minister Gerry Byrne was showing his Crown lands office staff in Corner Brook some love on Valentine’s Day.
The minister held a press conference Wednesday, attended mostly by workers in the office, which is now based in the west coast city after being transferred from St. John’s last year.
Before announcing some new initiatives of the Crown lands division, Byrne thanked the staff for dealing with a backlog of around 3,800 applications that had included, some dating back a decade.
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He said the fact the branch had been chronically short-staffed for many years, with as high as a 38 per cent vacancy in allocated positions at times, contributed to the growing backlog of applications.
When two positions currently being advertised are filled, the division will be staffed at 100 per cent, according to Byrne.
The staff who had been working in St. John’s up until last year’s move across the island were given the options of moving to Corner Brook, taking an early retirement package or finding positions elsewhere in government.
Two positions held by longtime employees were kept in St. John’s, but will be moved to Corner Brook when those workers leave those jobs.
Citing that the backlog of Crown lands applications had been growing at a rate of around 1,000 applications per year, the department’s reinforced staffing allowed the establishment of dedicated teams to tackle the work.
According to Byrne, around half of the backlog has now been dealt with and he expects it to be fully addressed by the end of March.
The new business and enhanced services the branch will now take on will include the implementation of a toll-free, dedicated inquiries line and email address.
The general public will also now have access to the division’s Crown land use atlas.
The interactive land use inquiry map will be accessible to residents and organizations on the department’s website and can be used to guide prospective applicants to areas where Crown Lands may be available.
Change details
- The new dedicated toll-free telephone number for obtaining information on the Crown Lands application process or to inquire about submitted applications is 1-833-891-3249, while the same information can be requested via email at [email protected].
To access the Crown land use inquiry map, visit www.gov.nl.ca/landuseatlas/inquiry/
Source: Department of Fisheries and Land Resources
