North Preston residents still waiting for land title fix

North Preston community members say they've seen no action from government despite a promise three months ago to fix land title issues.

About one-third of homeownersin North Preston don't have clear titles to landtheirfamilies have been living on for generations.

'They keep pushing it back'

In February, Natural Resources Minister Lloyd Hines said a plan was in the works to address theissue "pretty immediately."

But North Preston Land Recovery Initiative members say they haven't heard a thing.

"They know the importance of it. They know what we've been up against for numerous years and it's quite interesting that they keep pushing it back and pushing it back when the ability to make this happen quickly is pretty much in their hands, and it's very doable," member Dwight Adams said.

"They're not worried about it too much."

The department's involvement "makes or breaks" their chances of moving forward, he said.

Plots of land were given to black loyalists and refugees by the Nova Scotia government in the early1800s.

Years later when some residents went to sell their property or pass it down, they were told they didn't have clear title to that land.

No help provided

In March, the department announced itwould be hiring a law student to assist homeowners to gainclear titles to their land. The student was expected to start working in April.

"Nobody has been hired yet," memberAngela Simmonds said.

She's a Dalhousie University law student,has close ties with the communityand is a member of the Land Recovery Initiative.

• Law and land surveyor associations in Nova Scotia offering their services for free

Simmonds saysshe applied for the position, which she views asessential.

"It's only going to be successful if we're able to collaborate and speak candidly about the issues in the community and the systemic racism that has continued to happened with other agencies," she said.

The department has not responded toCBC'squestions about the job.

More comeforward

The land titleissue came to light througha journalism projectby Nova Scotia Community College students.

Since then, other historic black Nova Scotian communities have come forward dealing with the same problem.

"South Shore area, Windsor area, Beechville, Lake Loon, Cherry Brook, East Prestonso all the surrounding areas within the black communities in Nova Scotia have already started reaching out and asking, 'How did you guys get this started?'" Adams said.

"My answer to them was, "You're going tohave to do the same thing we're doing here in North Preston."

Adams saidhe fears his community could be wiped out because of depopulation if the Department of Natural Resources doesn't "step up to the plate."

"Our seniors are dying, they're going. The younger people in the next generation, they're trying to hold onto the bits and pieces that are left in the community," he said.