LAWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Incident Reporting

Oct 3: Newly passed workers’ comp reform legislation, (Bill 144), reduces the time by which employers must report a workplace injury to the Nova Scotia WCB from 5 to 2 days while clarifying that employers can access reports on workers’ functional abilities to further return to work after an injury.

Action Point: Find out how to implement a legally sound Incident Reporting Compliance Game Plan at your site.

Transportation Safety

Oct 3: The Nova Scotia Assembly passed a new Traffic Safety Act, Bill 130. Highlights: i. distracted driving rules based on current technology; ii. new protections for pedestrians, motorcyclists, construction workers, and other vulnerable people; iii. authority to adopt inclusive cyclist rules of the road regulations; and iv. framework improve child passenger safety, driver visibility, and vehicle condition standards; and v. clearer rules for emergency vehicles, school buses and emerging vehicle types.

Industry Challenges

Sep 22: Newly tabled Bill C-237 amends the federal Fisheries Act governing the management of Atlantic groundfish fisheries, provides for harmonizing the close times across the Maritimes provinces of Canadian fisheries waters of the Atlantic Ocean used for recreational fishing of groundfish.

Training

Oct 3: Royal Assent for Bill 127 amending the Liquor Control Act to require establishments with a liquor license to perform criminal record checks on bouncers and also verify that bouncers have completed security training to keep both bar staff and patrons safe. The Bill hasn’t yet been proclaimed effective.

New Laws

Oct 3: Newly passed Bill 137, the Making Business Easier Act, gives the government broad authority to adopt new regulations to streamline and simplify the province’s apprenticeship and trades qualifications rules and processes.

New Laws

Oct 7: Nova Scotia eliminated the 5-year certification renewal requirement for journeypersons in most compulsory trades, including plumber, construction electrician, and boilermaker, effective immediately. It also cut the cost of certification exams in more than occupations from $644.15 to $350, bringing Nova Scotia more in line with other provinces.

New Laws

Sep 20: The federal and provincial governments moved forward with their ambitious offshore wind project plan by issuing the new Canada–Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator “Strategic Direction” to develop a prequalification process that developers can use to bid for projects in the newly designated Wind Energy Areas. Such projects may include interties between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, transmission cables between Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, and further development of Churchill Falls and Gull Island.

Fire Safety

Sep 22: Nova Scotia established an advisory committee to create a new provincial firefighter training program that covers everything from how fire behaves to safe use of ladders to get people out of crashed vehicles. The government created the committee after a value-for-money audit found serious safety and governance issues at the Nova Scotia Firefighters Training School earlier this summer.

Action Point: Find out how to implement an effective and legally sound Fire Prevention Compliance Game Plan to prevent fires and explosions at your workplace.

Privacy

Oct 3: The Nova Scotia Assembly passed Bill 150, a reinvented and modernized version of its 25-year-old Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIPOP) Act. Among other things, the legislation extends oversight of privacy to municipalities and villages, requires public bodies to notify individuals of affected by privacy breaches carrying a significant risk of harm and increases fines for privacy violations. Effective date: April 1, 2027.

Action Point: Find out more about how privacy laws affect workplace safety.

Workers’ Comp

Oct 3: Although the WCB is keeping the average employer assessment rate at $2.65 per $100 in 2026, newly passed Bill 144 provides for a rate cut in 2027, the first in the province in 30 years. The legislation allows for rate changes when the WCB’s funded percentage is between 90% and 115%; its current position is 106%.

Workers’ Comp

Oct 3: In addition to a potential employer rates cut in 2027, newly passed Bill 144 enhances worker benefits, including an increase the cost-of-living adjustment from 50% to 100% of the consumer price index, up to 3% annually. The Bill also extends presumptive cancer coverage to wildland firefighters and fire investigators, expands survivor benefits and allows for benefits to be paid to a deceased worker’s estate even when no dependents exist.

Environmental

Oct 3: Newly passed Bill 137, the Making Business Easier Act, streamlines environmental permitting in the mining sector by allowing the government to establish a one-window approach for issuing licenses, permits, and other authorizations required for mineral-resource projects. The Bill also eliminates certain low-risk permits and establishes a team of public servants to act as the point of contact for project proponents.

Environmental

Oct 3: Royal Assent for Bill 149, The Powering the Offshore Act, which amends current energy laws (the Electricity, Public Utilities and Marine Renewable Energy Acts) to pave the way for offshore wind, tidal energy and the Nova Scotia-New Brunswick intertie. Last month, the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator launched the first phase of a licensing process to tap into Nova Scotia’s offshore wind to produce 62 gigawatts of clean energy.

Environmental

Oct 3: The Nova Scotia Assembly passed Bill 127 amending the Wildlife Act to allow conservation officers to perform routine inspections. The Bill also increases penalties from $3,000 to $500,000 ($1 million for corporations) to align with the penalty provisions of the Endangered Species Act and Forests Act. Penalties under the Crown Lands Act will also increase from $2,000 to $50,000.

CASES

There are no cases to mention this month.