BILL NO. 25

1st Session, 58th General Assembly
Nova Scotia
48 Elizabeth II, 1999

Government Bill

Justice Administration Amendment (1999) Act

The Honourable Michael G. Baker
Minister of Justice

First Reading: November 15, 1999

(Explanatory Notes)

Second Reading: November 16, 1999

Third Reading: November 19, 1999 (WITH COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS)

Clause 1 sets out the short title of the Act.

Clause 2 provides that

(a) where a barrister has been suspended, the barrister may not act as a notary public during the period of the suspension; and

(b) where a barrister has been struck from the roll or permitted to resign as part of a disciplinary proceeding, the appointment of the barrister as a notary public is revoked.

Clause 3 addresses a finding of the Supreme Court in Curruth v. Singleton Murphy that small claims adjudicators were not able to tax lawyer's accounts for services because they were not taxing masters.

Clause 4 expands the definition of "court" in the Constitutional Questions Act to include administrative tribunals.

Clause 5 amends the Evidence Act to permit an electronic copy of a statute to be given as evidence of that statute.

Clause 6 expands the definition of "court" in the Interprovincial Subpoena Act to include additional subpoena-issuing bodies.

Clause 7 amends the Intestate Succession Act in accordance with the Charter of Rights decision in Tighe v. MacGillivray Estate to provide that a child born outside of marriage may inherit from an intestate father as well as the child's intestate mother.

Clause 8 amends the Legal Aid Act to clarify a potential conflict of interest situation.

Under the Public Trustee Act, where the Public Trustee is acting as guardian of an infant and receives less that $10,000, the Public Trustee may use both the capital and income for the maintenance, education and support of the child but, where the Public Trustee receives more than $10,000, only the income may be used. Clause 9 increases that amount to $100,000.

The Public Trustee has authority to administer an estate that contains assets of less than $2,500 without going through the regular administration process. Clause 10 increases that amount to $10,000.

Clauses 11 and 12 make changes necessary as a result of the change made in Clause 10.

Clause 13 changes the method of numbering regulations for citations.

Clauses 14 and 15 permit a justice of the peace to remit a penalty under the Remission of Penalties Act.

Clause 16 increases the jurisdiction of the Small Claims Court from $5,000 to $10,000.

Clauses 17 and 18 provide that service of all documents under the Small Claims Court Act may be by personal service or such other manner of service or substituted service as prescribed by the regulations.

Clause 19 amends the Statute Revision Act to permit an electronic copy of a consolidated statute to be given as evidence of that statute.

Clause 20 permits a justice of the peace to remit a penalty in a matter the justice has dealt with rather than requiring the matter to be dealt with by a judge of the provincial court.

Clause 21 adds to the Summary Proceedings Act a mechanism, modeled on the Criminal Code (Canada), to enable an unpaid fine to be entered as a judgment against the defaulting offender.

Clause 22 provides that a person who violates a disposition made under the Young Persons' Summary Proceedings Act after attaining the age of sixteen is guilty of an offence.

Clause 23 provides for the coming into force of the Act.

Be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:

1 This Act may be cited as the Justice Administration Amendment (1999) Act.

PART I

BARRISTERS AND SOLICITORS ACT

2 Section 11 of Chapter 30 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Barristers and Solicitors Act, is amended by adding immediately after subsection (4) the following subsections:

(4A) Where a barrister has been suspended pursuant to Section 32 or the regulations, the barrister shall not act as a notary public during the period of the suspension.

(4B) Where the name of a barrister has been struck from the roll of barristers pursuant to clause (a) of subsection (3) of Section 32 or where a barrister is permitted to resign pursuant to clause (b) of subsection (3) of Section 32, the appointment of the barrister as a notary public is revoked.

3 Section 42 of Chapter 30 is repealed and the following Section substituted:

42 Any bill for fees, costs, charges or disbursements may be taxed by a taxing master, taxing officer, judge of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia or an adjudicator of the Small Claims Court of Nova Scotia.

PART II

CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTIONS ACT

4 Clause 10(1)(a) of Chapter 89 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Constitutional Questions Act, is repealed and the following clause substituted:

(a) "court" means the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, the Family Court, a judge of either of those courts, a judge of the provincial court or an administrative tribunal;

PART III

EVIDENCE ACT

5 (1) Subsection 3(1) of Chapter 154 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Evidence Act, is amended by

(a) striking out "printed and" in the sixth line; and

(b) adding ", whether published in print or electronic form" immediately after "territory" in the last line.

(2) Section 3 of Chapter 154 is further amended by adding immediately after subsection (2) the following subsection:

(2A) In addition to the methods provided in subsections (1) and (2), evidence of any statute of this Province may be given in any court or for any purpose by the production of a copy of such statute purporting to be published by authority of the Speaker of the Assembly, whether published in print or electronic form.

PART IV

INTERPROVINCIAL SUBPOENA ACT

6 Clause 2(a) of Chapter 1 of the Acts of 1996, the Interprovincial Subpoena Act, is repealed and the following clause substituted:

(a) "court" means any court in a province of Canada and, where a board, commission, tribunal or other body or person in a province of Canada has the power to issue a subpoena, includes that board, commission, tribunal, body or person;

PART V

INTESTATE SUCCESSION ACT

7 Section 16 of Chapter 236 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Intestate Succession Act, is amended by adding "or father" immediately after "mother" in the last line.

PART VI

LEGAL AID ACT

8 Chapter 252 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Legal Aid Act, is amended by adding immediately after Section 26 the following Section:

26A A barrister employed by the Commission to provide legal aid is not in a conflict of interest by reason only of representing a person in a dispute where a party opposite in interest in the dispute is being advised or represented by another barrister working for a different office of the Commission.

PART VII

PUBLIC TRUSTEE ACT

9 (1) Subsection 10(1) of Chapter 379 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Public Trustee Act, is amended by

(a) striking out "ten" in the second line of clause (a) and substituting "one hundred"; and

(b) striking out "ten" in the second line of clause (b) and substituting "one hundred".

(2) Subsection 10(3) of Chapter 379 is amended by striking out "ten" in the fifth line and substituting "one hundred".

10 Clause 16(1)(b) of Chapter 379 is amended by striking out "two thousand five hundred" in the second and third lines and substituting "ten thousand".

11 Subsection 21(1) of Chapter 379 is amended by striking out "two thousand five hundred" in the second and third lines and substituting "ten thousand".

12 Subsection 22(1) of Chapter 379 is amended by striking out "two thousand five hundred" in the fourth line and substituting "ten thousand".

PART VIII

REGULATIONS ACT

13 Section 19 of Chapter 393 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Regulations Act, is amended by striking out "last two" in the third line and substituting "four".

PART IX

REMISSION OF PENALTIES ACT

14 Section 2 of Chapter 397 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Remission of Penalties Act, is amended by adding "or the justice of the peace" immediately after "judge" in the second line.

15 Section 3 of Chapter 397 is repealed.

PART X

SMALL CLAIMS COURT

16 Section 9 of Chapter 430 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Small Claims Court Act, as amended by Chapter 16 of the Acts of 1992, is further amended by

(a) striking out "five" in the third line of clause (a) and substituting "ten";

(b) striking out "five" in the fourth line of clause (b) and substituting "ten"; and

(c) striking out "five" in the third line of clause (c) and substituting "ten".

17 Subsection 21(3) of Chapter 430 is repealed and the following subsection substituted:

(3) Service of all documents may be by personal service or such other manner of service or substituted service as prescribed by the regulations.

18 Subsection 33(1) of Chapter 430, as amended by Chapter 16 of the Acts of 1992, is further amended by adding immediately after clause (d) the following clause:

(da) respecting service or substituted service of documents;

PART XI

STATUTE REVISION ACT

19 (1) Subsection 8(1) of Chapter 443 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Statute Revision Act, is amended by

(a) striking out "printed" in the second line and substituting "published"; and

(b) adding "or in electronic form" immediately after "form" in the third line.

(2) Subsection 8(3) of Chapter 443 is amended by striking out "printed" both places it appears in the first line and substituting in each case "published".

PART XII

SUMMARY PROCEEDINGS ACT

20 (1) Subsection 8(18) of Chapter 450 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Summary Proceedings Act, is amended by striking out "a judge of the provincial court and the judge" in the third line and substituting "the justice who entered a conviction pursuant to subsection (15) or a judge of the provincial court and the justice or the judge, as the case may be".

(2) Subsection 8(19) of Chapter 450 is amended by adding "justice of the peace or a" immediately before "judge" in the second line.

(3) Subsection 8(21) of Chapter 450 is amended by striking out "judge" in the second line and substituting "justice or judge, as the case may be,".

21 Chapter 450 is further amended by adding immediately after Section 16 the following Section:

16A (1) Where an offender is in default of payment of a fine, in addition to any other method provided by law for recovering the fine, the person or body to whom the proceeds of the fine belong may, by filing the order, enter as a judgment the amount of the fine, and costs, if any, in any civil court in the Province that has jurisdiction to enter a judgment for that amount.

(2) An order that is entered as a judgment pursuant to subsection (1) is enforceable in the same manner as if it were a judgment obtained by the person or body, as the case may be, in a civil proceeding.

PART XIII

YOUNG PERSONS' SUMMARY PROCEEDINGS ACT

22 Subsection 17(1) of Chapter 509 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Young Persons' Summary Proceedings Act, is amended by adding immediately after clause (c) the following clause:

(ca) attains the age of sixteen years while subject to a disposition made under Section 11 and wilfully breaches or disobeys a term or condition of the disposition after attaining that age;

PART XIV

COMING INTO FORCE

23 This Act, except Sections 5, 6, 7, 8, 13 and 19, comes into force on such day as the Governor in Council orders and declares by proclamation.