The first pilot of ACCESS PEI officially opened its doors in Summerside this afternoon. The pilot was the result of a provincial government report card in 1996 called "The Red Tape Review." The report examined ideas for streamlining government services and making those services more accessible to Islanders. Key to this was creating convenient, one-stop shopping locations, to be called ACCESS PEI.
Last February, the provincial government agreed to pilot the concept of bringing together a multitude of provincial government services in Summerside. A total of 14 staff from the East Prince Regional Services Centre, the Taxation and Property Records Summerside office and the Highway Safety Division were cross-trained and co-located to provide more efficient, quality services to clients.
"This pilot project is the first of many Access PEI centres to be located across the province," said Premier Binns. "It is our hope that the success of this centre will provide the information needed to co-locate government services in other major communities across the province."
"ACCESS PEI demonstrates a philosophical change in government's attempt to reorganize in an effort to provide superior service, at convenient locations, to all Islanders," said Don MacKinnon, Minister responsible for ACCESS PEI.
ACCESS PEI opened its doors last March and to date staff have served over 35,000 clients. At the centre, you can obtain a driver's licence, pay your taxes, get a marriage licence, or access any one of a hundred services in this building. Previously, the public in Summerside had to go to three different locations for services, now they will only have to visit the one establishment.
Bilingual services are also available to handle Francophone inquiries at the ACCESS PEI Summerside site where deemed appropriate.