BILL NO. 165
(as introduced)
2nd Session, 63rd General Assembly
Nova Scotia
68 Elizabeth II, 2019
Private Member's Bill
Emergency Management Act
(amended)
Claudia Chender
Dartmouth South
First Reading: October 1, 2019
Second Reading:
Third Reading:
Explanatory Notes
Clause 1 adds a definition of "telecommunications".
Clause 2 requires Provincial and municipal emergency management plans to include a plan for the maintenance of telecommunications.
Clause 3 requires the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing or a municipal council to declare a state of emergency or state of local emergency if satisfied that an emergency exists or may exist.
Clause 4 allows the Minister, or a mayor or warden in the case of a state of local emergency, to provide for the maintenance and restoration of telecommunications.
Clause 5 requires persons providing telecommunications services to the public to maintain those services during an emergency, but to advise the Minister where doing so is not practical.
Clause 6 allows the Governor in Council to make regulations respecting standards for the maintenance of telecommunications during an emergency.
An Act to Amend Chapter 8
of the Acts of 1990,
the Emergency Management Act,
Respecting Emergency Management
and Telecommunications
WHEREAS Nova Scotians are vulnerable to extreme weather events;
AND WHEREAS it appears that such events are occurring with increased frequency and intensity;
AND WHEREAS September's Tropical Storm Dorian was an event that occasioned serious damage, notably to emergency communications, and demonstrated some weaknesses in Nova Scotia's emergency infrastructure;
THEREFORE be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:
1 Section 2 of Chapter 8 of the Acts of 1990, the Emergency Management Act, as amended by Chapter 48 of the Acts of 2005, Chapter 9 of the Acts of 2011 and Chapter 34 of the Acts of 2014, is further amended by
(a) striking out the period at the end of clause (k) and substituting a semi-colon; and
(b) adding immediately after clause (k) the following clause:
- (l) "telecommunications" includes telephone, cellular telephone and internet communications.
2 Chapter 8 is further amended by adding immediately after Section 10A the following Section:
- 10B A Provincial or municipal emergency management plan must include a plan for the maintenance of continuous telecommunications for emergency management offices and the public during an emergency.
3 (1) Subsection 12(1) of Chapter 8 is amended by striking out "may" the second time it appears in the fifth line and substituting "shall".
(2) Subsection 12(2) of Chapter 8 is amended by striking out "may" in the first line and substituting "shall".
4 Clause 14(e) of Chapter 8 is amended by adding ", including telecommunications" immediately after "facilities" in the second line.
5 Chapter 8 is further amended by adding immediately after Section 16 the following Section:
- 16A (1) Subject to subsection (2), a person providing telecommunications services to the public shall maintain the operation of the telecommunications services at all times during a state of emergency.
(2) Where, due to the nature of the emergency, it is dangerous or impossible for a person providing telecommunications services to the public to maintain the operation of the telecommunications services during a state of emergency, the person shall immediately advise the Minister, or the mayor or warden in the case of a state of local emergency, of the outage and of the anticipated time for the restoration of the services.
6 Subsection 25(1) of Chapter 8, as amended by Chapter 48 of the Acts of 2005, Chapter 12 of the Acts of 2009 and Chapter 9 of the Acts of 2011, is further amended by adding immediately after clause (bd) the following clause:
- (be) respecting standards for the maintenance of telecommunications during an emergency, including different standards for areas with different population densities;
This page and its contents published by the Office of the Legislative Counsel, Nova Scotia House of Assembly, and © 2019 Crown in right of Nova Scotia. Created October 1, 2019. Send comments to legc.office@novascotia.ca.
