An amendment to the Municipal Government Act introduced today, April 15, can save municipalities time, paper and money by removing the requirement for a municipal seal on certain documents.

The seal is currently required on documents related to the semi-annual debenture process. The Municipal Finance Corporation issues debentures on behalf of municipalities to help them finance capital projects at lower cost.

“When a municipal seal is required, the document can’t be sent via email,” said Municipal Affairs Minister Zach Churchill. “Removing the outdated, redundant requirement for the seal means municipalities can sign and submit these documents by email.”

Twice a year, the corporation issues debentures to secure capital on behalf of municipalities that wish to participate. For example, a municipality may get a short-year loan from its local lending institution to build a new recreation complex. Once the building is complete, the municipality participates in the debenture to pay off the short-term loan and then repays the corporation over a longer term at lower cost.

More information on the debenture process is available at www.nsmfc.ca.

Source: Release