BILL NO. 75

1st Session, 58th General Assembly
Nova Scotia
49 Elizabeth II, 2000



Government Bill



Law Reform (2000) Act



The Honourable Michael G. Baker, Q.C.
Minister of Justice



First Reading: November 6, 2000

(Explanatory Notes)

Second Reading: November 14, 2000

Third Reading: November 30, 2000 (WITH COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS)

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Explanatory Notes

Clause 1 sets out the short title of the Act.

Clause 2 amends the long and short titles of the Family Maintenance Act.

Clause 3 adds to the Family Maintenance Act a definition of "common-law partner" that applies regardless of the sex of the partners and consequentially amends its definition of "spouse".

Clauses 4 to 8 amend various provisions of the Family Maintenance Act to extend the application of the Act to common-law partners.

Clauses 9 to 12 amend various provisions of the Income Tax Act to make them apply to "common-law partners", which is a term incorporated by reference from the Income Tax Act (Canada) as amended by the Modernization of Benefits and Obligations Act (Canada) and which means two persons, regardless of sex, who have cohabited continuously in a conjugal relationship for at least twelve months.

Clause 13 sets out transitional provisions relating to common-law partners for the 2000 taxation year.

Clause 14 provides that the division of pensions or pension benefits under the Pension Benefits Act applies to the common-law partners of members of the House of Assembly.

Clause 15 amends the definition of "spouse" in the Pension Benefits Act by removing the reference to "husband and wife" in the subclause dealing with "common-law" relationships and substituting a reference to a "conjugal relationship" and adds a definition of "common-law partner".

Clause 16 repeals Section 61 of the Pension Benefits Act, which deals with the division of pension benefits on marriage breakdown, and replaces it with a new Section that provides that a spouse or common-law partner shall not receive more than one half of the pension or pension benefit earned during the marriage or cohabitation.

Clause 17 adds a provision to the Pension Benefits Act providing for garnishment or attachment of pension benefits, retirement savings or annuities pursuant to the Maintenance Enforcement Act.

Clause 18 amends the regulation-making power in the Pension Benefits Act in relation to division of pensions and pension benefits on the breakdown of a marriage or common-law partnership and adds regulation-making powers in relation to the division of benefits.

Clause 19 amends various provisions of the Pension Benefits Act to extend the application of that Act to same-sex partners.

Clause 20 amends the Provincial Court Act to provide that the common-law partner of a Provincial Court or Family Court judge will receive the same pension benefits as would a spouse.

Clauses 21 to 33 make a variety of amendments to the Vital Statistics Act to provide for the registration of domestic-partner declarations, provision of copies, registration of terminations and the keeping of statistics.

Clause 34 adds a new Part II to the Vital Statistics Act that provides

(a) for the making and registration of domestic-partner declarations;

(b) that after registration the domestic partners have the rights and obligations equivalent to people who are married; and

(c) for the termination of domestic partnerships.

Clause 35 provides the effective dates for the Parts of the Act.

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An Act to Comply with Certain Court Decisions
and to Modernize and Reform
Laws in the Province

Be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:

1 This Act may be cited as the Law Reform (2000) Act.

PART I

FAMILY MAINTENANCE ACT

2 (1) The long title of Chapter 160 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, is changed from "An Act Respecting Family Maintenance" to "An Act Respecting the Maintenance of Spouses, Common-law Partners and Dependants".

(2) Section 1 of Chapter 160 is repealed and the following Section substituted:

3 Section 2 of Chapter 160, as amended by Chapter 3 of the Acts of 1997 (2nd Session), is further amended by

(a) adding immediately after clause (a) the following clause:

(b) repealing clause (m) and substituting the following clause:

4 (1) Subsection 3A(1) of Chapter 160, as enacted by Chapter 3 of the Acts of 1997 (2nd Session), is amended by adding "or common-law partner" immediately after "spousal" in the third line.

(2) Subsection 3A(2) of Chapter 160, as enacted by Chapter 3 of the Acts of 1997 (2nd Session), is amended by adding "or common-law partner" immediately after "spousal" in the first and in the last line.

5 Clause 4(l) of Chapter 160, as amended by Chapter 3 of the Acts of 1997 (2nd Session), is further amended by adding "or common-law partner's" immediately after "spouse's" in the second line.

6 (1) Clause 6(2)(b) of Chapter 160 is amended by striking out "spouses" in the second line and substituting "common-law partners".

(2) Clause 6(3)(c) is repealed and the following clause substituted:

7 Clause 29(1)(a) of Chapter 160, as enacted by Chapter 3 of the Acts of 1997 (2nd Session), is amended by adding "or common-law partner" immediately after "spousal" in the second line.

8 Chapter 160 is further amended by adding

(a) "or common-law partner" immediately after "spouse" wherever it appears in Chapter 160, except in clause 2(m); and

(b) "or common-law partners" immediately after "spouses" wherever it appears in Chapter 160, except in clause 6(2)(b).

PART II

INCOME TAX ACT

9 (1) Clause (a) of the description of B in subsection 10(1) of Chapter 217 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Income Tax Act, as enacted by Chapter 4 of the Acts of 2000, is amended by

(a) adding "or a person who is in a common-law partnership" immediately after "person" in the third line;

(b) adding "or common-law partner" immediately after "spouse" in the fourth, in the fifth, in the fifteenth and in the seventeenth lines;

(c) adding "or common-law partnership" immediately after "marriage" in the sixth and seventh lines and in the twentieth line;

(d) adding "or common-law partner's" immediately after "spouse's" in the twentieth line; and

(e) adding "or in a common-law partnership" immediately after "married" in the twenty-first line.

(2) Subclause (b)(i) of the description of B in subsection 10(1) of Chapter 217 is repealed and the following subclause substituted:

(3) Paragraph (d)(ii)(B) of the description of B in subsection 10(1) of Chapter 217, as enacted by Chapter 4 of the Acts of 2000, is amended by adding "or common-law partner" immediately after "spouse" in the sixth line.

10 Clause (a) of the description of D in Section 12 of Chapter 217, as enacted by Chapter 4 of the Acts of 2000, is amended by adding "or common-law partner" immediately after "spouse" in the second line.

11 Subsection 19(4) of Chapter 217, as enacted by Chapter 4 of the Acts of 2000, is amended by adding "or common-law partner" immediately after "spouse" in the fourth line, in the seventh line of subclause (a)(ii) and in the seventh line of subclause (b)(ii).

12 (1) Paragraph 36(1)(c)(iii)(A) of Chapter 217, as enacted by Chapter 4 of the Acts of 2000, is amended by adding "or common-law partner" immediately after "spouse" in the seventh line.

(2) Clause 36(2)(b) of Chapter 217, as enacted by Chapter 4 of the Acts of 2000, is repealed and the following clause substituted:

(3) Subclause 36(3)(a)(ii) of Chapter 217, as enacted by Chapter 4 of the Acts of 2000, is repealed and the following subclause substituted:

(4) Subsection 36(5) of Chapter 217, as enacted by Chapter 4 of the Acts of 2000, is amended by

(a) adding "or in a common-law partnership" immediately after "married" in the second line; and

(b) adding "or common-law partner" immediately after "spouse" in the third line.

13 (1) If the proposed sections 130 to 142 of the Modernization of Benefits and Obligations Act (Canada) apply in respect of the 2000 taxation year to a taxpayer and a person who would have been the taxpayer's common-law partner in that year had those sections of that Act applied in that year, clause (a), subclause (b)(i) and paragraph (d)(ii)(B) of the description of B in subsection 10(1), clause (a) of the description of D in Section 12, subsection 19(4) and Section 36 of the Income Tax Act apply to the taxpayer and that person in respect of the 2000 and subsequent taxation years.

(2) Clause (a), subclause (b)(i) and paragraph (d)(ii)(B) of the description of B in subsection 10(1), clause (a) of the description of D in Section 12, subsection 19(4) and Section 36 of the Income Tax Act apply to the 2000 taxation year, except those provisions shall be read without reference to "or common-law partner" and without reference to "or common-law partnership" for that taxation year unless a valid election is made by the taxpayer under section 144 of the Modernization of Benefits and Obligations Act (Canada) that the Income Tax Act (Canada) apply to the taxpayer in respect of that taxation year.

(3) Section 146 of the Modernization of Benefits and Obligations Act (Canada) applies for the purpose of this Section.

PART III

MEMBERS' RETIRING ALLOWANCES ACT

14 Section 24 of Chapter 282 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Members' Retiring Allowances Act, as recommended by the Nova Scotia Commission of Inquiry on Remuneration of Elected Provincial Officials for 1999, is amended by

(a) adding "(1)" immediately after the Section number;

(b) adding "or common-law partner" immediately after "spouse"; and

(c) adding the following subsection:

PART IV

PENSION BENEFITS ACT

15 Section 2 of Chapter 340 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Pension Benefits Act, is amended by

(a) adding immediately after clause (g) the following clause:

(b) adding "or" immediately after subclause (aj)(ii);

(c) striking out ", or" immediately after subclause (aj)(iii) and substituting a semicolon; and

(d) repealing subclause (aj)(iv).

16 Section 61 of Chapter 340 is repealed and the following Section substituted:

17 Chapter 340 is further amended by adding immediately after Section 71 the following Section:

18 Clause 105(1)(l) of Chapter 340 is repealed and the following clauses substituted:

19 Chapter 240 is further amended by adding "or common-law partner" immediately after "spouse" wherever it appears in Chapter 240.

PART V

PROVINCIAL COURT ACT

20 (1) Subsection 23(1) of Chapter 238 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Provincial Court Act, is repealed and the following subsection substituted:

(2) Clause 23(2)(c) of Chapter 238 is amended by adding ", common-law partner" immediately after "spouse" in the first line.

(3) Clause 23(3)(c) of Chapter 238 is amended by adding ", common-law partner immediately after "spouse" in the first line.

(4) Subsection 23(5) of Chapter 238 is amended by adding ", common-law partner" immediately after "spouse" in the sixth line.

PART VI

VITAL STATISTICS ACT

21 Section 2 of Chapter 494 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Vital Statistics Act, as amended by Chapter 8 of the Acts of 1998, is further amended by adding immediately after clause (h) the following clause:

22 Chapter 494 is further amended by adding the heading "PART I" immediately after Section 2.

23 Chapter 494 is further amended by adding immediately after Section 16 the following Sections:

24 Subsection 26(5) of Chapter 494 is amended by adding ", domestic partnership" immediately after "marriage" in the fourth and fifth lines.

25 Subsection 27(3) of Chapter 494 is amended by adding ", domestic partnership" immediately after "marriage" in the second line.

26 (1) Clause 35(1)(c) of Chapter 494 is amended by adding ", domestic partnerships" immediately after "marriages" in the fourth and fifth lines.

(2) Subsection 35(3) of Chapter 494 is amended by adding ", domestic partnership" immediately after "marriage" in the second line.

27 (1) Clause 36(1)(a) of Chapter 494 is amended by

(1) adding ", domestic partnership" immediately after "marriage" in the second line; and

(b) adding ", termination of domestic partnership" immediately after "name" in the third line.

(2) Subsection 36(2) of Chapter 494 is amended by

(a) adding ", domestic partnership" immediately after "marriage" in the third line; and

(b) adding ", termination of domestic partnership" immediately after "name" in the third line.

28 Section 37 of Chapter 494 is amended by adding immediately after subsection (11) the following subsections:

29 (1) Subsection 40(1) of Chapter 494 is amended by adding ", domestic partnership" immediately after "marriage" in the second line.

(2) Subsection 40(3) of Chapter 494 is amended by adding ", domestic partnership" immediately after "marriage" in the third line.

30 Section 41 of Chapter 494 is amended by

(a) adding ", domestic partnerships" immediately after "marriages" in the third line; and

(b) adding ", terminations of domestic partnerships" immediately after "name" in the third line.

31 Section 43 of Chapter 494 is amended by

(a) adding ", domestic partnerships" immediately after "marriages" in the fourth line; and

(b) adding ", terminations of domestic partnerships" immediately after "name" in the fifth line.

32 Section 48 of Chapter 494 is amended by adding ", domestic partnerships" immediately after "marriages" in the third line.

33 Subsection 51(1) of Chapter 494, as amended by Chapter 8 of the Acts of 1998, is further amended by

(a) repealing clause (f) and substituting the following clause:

(b) adding ", domestic partnership" immediately after "marriage" in the second and third lines of clause (j).

34 Chapter 494 is further amended by adding immediately after Section 51 the following headings and Sections:

PART II

DOMESTIC PARTNERS

PART VII

EFFECTIVE DATES

35 (1) Part I and Parts III to VI have effect on and after June 4, 2001.

(2) Part II has effect on and after January 1, 2001.

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This page and its contents published by the Office of the Legislative Counsel, Nova Scotia House of Assembly, and © 2000 Crown in right of Nova Scotia. Created December 1, 2000. Send comments to legc.office@gov.ns.ca.