BILL NO. 115

(as introduced)

2nd Session, 58th General Assembly
Nova Scotia
51 Elizabeth II, 2002



Government Bill



Justice Administration Amendment (2002) Act



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



First Reading: April 12, 2002

(Explanatory Notes)

Second Reading: May 7, 2002

Third Reading: May 28, 2002 (WITH COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS)

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Explanatory Notes

Clause 1 sets out the short title of the Act.

Clause 2 amends the Condominium Act to provide an exemption from subdivision-approval requirements for phased-development condominiums that meet requirements prescribed by regulations and provides an exemption for phased-development condominiums accepted for registration before the amendment comes into force.

Clause 3 adds a regulation-making power to prescribe the conditions that a phased-development condominium must meet, and the information and documents that must be provided, for a phased-development condominium to be exempt from subdivision-approval requirements.

Clause 4 amends the Interpretation Act to provide that when the time limited for doing something expires or falls on a Saturday, it is extended to the next day that is not a Saturday or a Sunday or other holiday.

Clause 5 amends the Juries Act to provide that members of the House of Assembly are disqualified from serving as jurors.

Clause 6 amends the Juries Act to remove the requirement that a jury panel must be selected at least two months before the beginning of each session of the Supreme Court.

Clause 7 adds a cross-reference to the Justices of the Peace Act to provide that the authority of the Chief Judge of the Provincial Court over justices of the peace does not apply to presiding justices of the peace.

Clauses 8 and 9 correct two incorrect references to the Supreme Court (Family Division).

Clauses 10 and 11 amend the Motor Vehicle Act to change cross-references to Sections that are amended by Clause 20.

Clauses 12 to 19 amend or repeal various provisions in the Motor Vehicle Act that would no longer be correct, or that would be made redundant, due to the amendments contained in Clauses 20 and 43, which establish a new set of penalty provisions in the Motor Vehicle Act based on general categories of offences under the Summary Proceedings Act.

Clause 20 amends penalty provisions in the Motor Vehicle Act, removes references to fine amounts and substitutes references to categories of offences provided for in the Summary Proceedings Act.

Clause 21 amends two provisions in the Motor Vehicle Act to remove portions that are no longer necessary because of the new penalty provisions contained in Clauses 20 and 43.

Clause 22 makes a consequential amendment to the Municipal Government Act to recognize the exemption created by Clause 2.

Clause 23 amends the Residential Tenancies Act by

(a) repealing the definition of "board";

(b) amending the definition of "Minister" to reflect a change to the Executive Council Act; and

(c) adding a definition of "Small Claims Court".

Clause 24 limits the existing general document-service provision in the Residential Tenancies Act to documents relating to an application to the Director of Residential Tenancies.

Clause 25 provides that, where there is no appeal of a decision or order of the Director of Residential Tenancies, it may be made and may be enforced as an order of the Small Claims Court.

Clause 26 changes a number of references in the Residential Tenancies Act to reflect the transfer of jurisdiction over residential tenancies appeals to the Small Claims Court.

Clauses 27 and 28 change the deadline for a decision on an appeal from seven to fourteen days and change references in the Residential Tenancies Act to reflect the transfer of jurisdiction to the Small Claims Court.

Clause 29 repeals a provision of the Residential Tenancies Act dealing with the establishment of residential tenancies boards and their powers.

Clause 30 changes a reference to reflect a change in the Public Service Act.

Clause 31 changes references to residential tenancies boards in the Residential Tenancies Act to reflect the transfer of jurisdiction to the Small Claims Court.

Clause 32 repeals provisions respecting the making and variation of orders by residential tenancies boards.

Clause 33 changes a reference to an order of a residential tenancies board to an order of the Director of Residential Tenancies or the Small Claims Court to reflect the transfer of jurisdiction.

Clause 34 amends a provision that persons receiving the guaranteed income supplement, social assistance or family benefits do not have to pay a fee for an appeal to a residential tenancies board.

Clause 35 repeals a provision respecting the manner of service of documents made obsolete by Clause 26.

Clause 36 revokes the appointments of the members of residential tenancies boards, nullifies contracts respecting their compensation and removes their right to compensation for loss of their offices.

Clause 37 increases the monetary limit on the jurisdiction of the Small Claims Court from ten thousand dollars to fifteen thousand dollars.

Clause 38 provides that the monetary limit on the jurisdiction of the Small Claims Court does not apply to an appeal of an order of the Director of Residential Tenancies.

Clause 39 amends a restriction on claims in the Small Claims Court to permit appeals from orders of the Director under the Residential Tenancies Act.

Clause 40

(a) increases the monetary limit of orders made by Small Claims Court adjudicators to reflect the increased monetary jurisdiction of the Court; and

(b) provides that an adjudicator may make an order for any remedy provided in an Act that authorizes or directs matters or things to be determined by the Small Claims Court.

Clause 41 corrects two typographical errors in the Small Claims Court Act.

Clause 42 adds to the Small Claims Court Act a power to make regulations respecting appeals from orders of the Director of Residential Tenancies.

Clause 43 adds a Section to the Summary Proceedings Act establishing penalties for offences identified by categories.

Clause 44 amends the Trustee Act to provide guidelines based on uniform model guidelines for trustees to follow when investing trust property, to provide protection from liability for a loss where the trustee has acted under a reasonable plan that a prudent investor could adopt in comparable circumstances and to permit reasonable delegation to an agent.

Clauses 45 to 48 correct typographical errors in the Youth Justice Act.

Clause 49 provides that Parts V, VII, VIII and IX come into force on proclamation.

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An Act Respecting the
Administration of Justice

Be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:

1 This Act may be cited as the Justice Administration Amendment (2002) Act.

PART I

CONDOMINIUM ACT

2 Chapter 85 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Condominium Act, as amended by Chapter 33 of the Acts of 1996, Chapter 28 of the Acts of 1998, Chapter 5 of the Acts of 1999 and Chapter 6 of the Acts of 2001, is further amended by adding immediately after Section 7 the following Section:

3 Subsection 46(1) of Chapter 85, as amended by Chapter 33 of the Acts of 1996 and Chapter 28 of the Acts of 1998, is further amended by adding immediately after clause (bd) the following clause:

PART II

INTERPRETATION ACT

4 Clause 19(k) of Chapter 235 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Interpretation Act, is amended by adding "Saturday or a" immediately before "holiday" in the second and in the fourth lines.

PART III

JURIES ACT

5 Clause 4(a) of Chapter 16 of the Acts of 1998, the Juries Act, is amended by adding "the House of Assembly," immediately after "of" in the first line.

6 Subsection 10(1) of Chapter 16 is amended by striking out "At least two months before" in the first line and substituting "Before".

PART IV

JUSTICES OF THE PEACE ACT

7 Subsection 9(1) of Chapter 244 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Justices of the Peace Act, as enacted by Chapter 16 of the Acts of 1992, is amended by adding "or 10A" immediately after "10" in the first line.

8 Subsection 10(1) of Chapter 244, as enacted by Chapter 16 of the Acts of 1992 and amended by Chapter 28 of the Acts of 2000, is further amended by striking out "Supreme Court (Family Division)" in the first line and substituting "Family Court".

9 Subsection 11(1) of Chapter 244, as enacted by Chapter 16 of the Acts of 1992 and amended by Chapter 28 of the Acts of 2000, is further amended by striking out "Supreme Court (Family Division)" in the second line and substituting "Family Court".

PART V

MOTOR VEHICLE ACT

10 Subsection 53(4) of Chapter 293 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Motor Vehicle Act, is amended by striking out "295" in the fourth line and substituting "298".

11 Subsection 97(2) of Chapter 293 is amended by striking out "295" in the fourth line and substituting "298".

12 Subsection 170A(4) of Chapter 293, as enacted by Chapter 35 of the Acts of 1996, is amended by striking out "and liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars" in the third and fourth lines.

13 (1) Subsection 173(5) of Chapter 293 is repealed.

(2) Subsection 173(6) of Chapter 293 is amended by striking out "the penalty referred to in subsection (5)" in the first and second lines and substituting "any other penalty imposed by this Act".

14 Subsection 175(9) of Chapter 293 is amended by striking out "and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars or more than one hundred dollars" in the second, third and fourth lines.

15 Subsection 182A(6) of Chapter 293, as enacted by Chapter 12 of the Acts of 1994-95, is repealed.

16 Subsection 200(3) of Chapter 293 is amended by striking out "and on summary conviction is liable to a penalty of not less than one hundred dollars and not more than five hundred dollars" in the third, fourth and fifth lines.

17 (1) Subsection 201(8) of Chapter 293, as enacted by Chapter 12 of the Acts of 2001, is amended by striking out everything after "offence" in the third line to the end of the subsection and substituting a period.

(2) Subsection 201(9) of Chapter 293, as enacted by Chapter 12 of the Acts of 2001, is amended by striking out everything after "offence" in the third line to the end of the subsection and substituting a period.

18 Subsection 242(3) of Chapter 293 is amended by striking out "and incur a penalty of not less than ten dollars and not more than one hundred dollars for each offence" in the fourth, fifth and sixth lines.

19 Subsection 287(3) of Chapter 293 is repealed.

20 Sections 292 to 299 of Chapter 293 are repealed and the following Sections substituted:

21 (1) Subsection 301(1) of Chapter 293 is amended by striking out everything after "certificate" in the fifth line to the end of the subsection and substituting "is guilty of an offence."

(2) Subsection 301(2) of Chapter 293 is amended by striking out "and liable upon summary conviction to the penalties prescribed by Section 293" in the third, fourth and fifth lines.

PART VI

MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT ACT

22 Subsection 268(2) of Chapter 18 of the Acts of 1998, the Municipal Government Act, is amended by adding immediately after clause (i) the following clause:

PART VII

RESIDENTIAL TENANCIES ACT

23 Section 2 of Chapter 401 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Residential Tenancies Act, as amended by Chapter 31 of the Acts of 1992 and Chapter 40 of the Acts of 1993, is further amended by

(a) repealing clause (aa);

(b) striking out "Housing and Consumer Affairs" in the first and second lines of clause (c) and substituting "Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations";

and

(c) adding immediately after clause (i) the following clause:

24 Subsection 15(1) of Chapter 401, as enacted by Chapter 7 of the Acts of 1997, is amended by adding "relating to an application to the Director" immediately after "documents" in the first line.

25 Section 17B of Chapter 401 is repealed and the following Section substituted:

26 (1) Subsection 17C(1) of Chapter 401, as enacted by Chapter 7 of the Acts of 1997, is amended by striking out "appropriate board" in the third line and substituting "Small Claims Court".

(2) Subsection 17C(2) of Chapter 401, as enacted by Chapter 7 of the Acts of 1997, is amended by

(a) striking out "Director" in the second line and substituting "Small Claims Court"; and

(b) striking out "regulation" in the fourth and in the fifth lines and substituting in each case "regulations made pursuant to the Small Claims Court Act".

(3) Subsection 17C(3) of Chapter 401 is repealed and the following subsections substituted:

(4) Subsection 17C(4) of Chapter 401, as enacted by Chapter 7 of the Acts of 1997, is amended by striking out "board" in the first line and substituting "Small Claims Court".

(5) Subsection 17C(5) of Chapter 401, as enacted by Chapter 7 of the Acts of 1997, is amended by striking out "board" in the first line and substituting "Small Claims Court".

(6) Subsection 17C(6) of Chapter 401, as enacted by Chapter 7 of the Acts of 1997, is amended by

(a) striking out "board" in the first line and substituting "Small Claims Court"; and

(b) striking ", or in writing or partly in writing and partly orally" in the second and third lines.

(7) Subsection 17C(7) of Chapter 401, as enacted by Chapter 7 of the Acts of 1997, is amended by striking out "board" both times it appears in the second line and in the third line and substituting in each case "Small Claims Court".

27 (1) Subsection 17D(1) of Chapter 401, as enacted by Chapter 7 of the Acts of 1997, is amended by

(a) striking out "seven" in the first line and substituting "fourteen"; and

(b) striking out "board" in the second line and substituting "Small Claims Court".

(2) Subsection 17D(2) of Chapter 401 is repealed.

28 (1) Subsection 17E(1) of Chapter 401, as enacted by Chapter 7 of the Acts of 1997, is amended by

(a) striking out "board" in the second and in the fourth lines and substituting in each case "Small Claims Court"; and

(b) adding "in the manner set out in the Small Claims Court Act" immediately after "Scotia" in the fourth line.

(2) Subsection 17E(2) of Chapter 401 is repealed and the following subsection substituted:

29 Section 18 of Chapter 401 is repealed.

30 Subsection 18A(1) of Chapter 401, as enacted by Chapter 31 of the Acts of 1992, is amended by striking out "the Department of Consumer Affairs" in the second line and substituting "Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations".

31 Section 20 of Chapter 401, as amended by Chapter 31 of the Acts of 1992 and Chapter 7 of the Acts of 1997, is further amended by

(a) striking out "a board" in the second line and substituting "the Small Claims Court"; and

(b) striking out "board" in the fourth line and substituting "the Small Claims Court".

32 Sections 21 and 22 of Chapter 401 are repealed.

33 Section 23 of Chapter 401 is amended by striking out "a board" in the second line and substituting "the Director or the Small Claims Court".

34 Section 27 of Chapter 401, as enacted by Chapter 31 of the Acts of 1992, is amended by striking out "or an appeal to a residential tenancies board" in the third and fourth lines.

35 Section 28 of Chapter 401 is repealed.

36 (1) The appointments of the members of the residential tenancies boards, including the Cape Breton Residential Tenancies Board, Western Counties Residential Tenancies Board and Halifax County Residential Tenancies Board, are hereby revoked.

(2) Notwithstanding any enactment, all contracts, agreements and orders relating to or fixing the amount of compensation, remuneration, fees, entitlements or benefits, including pension benefits, to the members of the residential tenancies boards, are null and void.

(3) Notwithstanding the Interpretation Act and any other enactment or any contract, agreement or order, the members of the residential tenancies boards have no right to compensation for the loss of their offices or the emoluments of those offices and no compensation, remuneration or fees shall be paid to any of them on or after this Part comes into force.

PART VIII

SMALL CLAIMS COURT ACT

37 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 and Chapter 8 of the Acts of 1999 (2nd Session), is further amended by

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

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

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

38 Subsection 9A(2) of Chapter 430, as enacted by Chapter 28 of the Acts of 2000, is amended by adding "or to an appeal of an order of the Director of Residential Tenancies pursuant to Section 17C of the Residential Tenancies Act immediately after "taxations" in the last line.

39 Clause 10(d) of Chapter 430 is amended by adding "to which the Residential Tenancies Act applies, other than an appeal of an order of the Director of Residential Tenancies made pursuant to Section 17C of that Act" immediately after "tenant" in the second line.

40 Clause 29(1)(a) of Chapter 430, as amended by Chapter 33 of the Acts of 1994 and Chapter 28 of the Acts of 2000, is further amended by

(a) striking out "ten" in the third line of subclause (ii) and substituting "fifteen";

(b) striking out the semicolon at the end of subclause (ii) and substituting a comma; and

(c) adding immediately after subclause (ii) the following subclause:

41 Subsection 32A(2) of Chapter 430, as enacted by Chapter 16 of the Acts of 1992, is amended by

(a) striking out "perserving" in the second line of clause (a) and substituting "preserving"; and

(b) striking out "employeee" in the last line and substituting "employee".

42 Subsection 33(1) of Chapter 430, as amended by Chapter 16 of the Acts of 1992, Chapter 8 of the Acts of 1999 (2nd Session) and Chapter 28 of the Acts of 2000, is further amended by adding immediately after clause (aa) the following clause:

PART IX

SUMMARY PROCEEDINGS ACT

43 Chapter 450 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Summary Proceedings Act, is amended by adding immediately after Section 4A the following Section:

PART X

TRUSTEE ACT

44 Section 3 of Chapter 479 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Trustee Act, is repealed and the following Sections substituted:

PART XI

YOUTH JUSTICE ACT

45 Section 15 of Chapter 38 of the Acts of 2001, the Youth Justice Act, is amended by striking out "a" in the first line.

46 Subsection 21(1) of Chapter 38 is amended by striking out "the" in the third line.

47 (1) Subsection 35(2) of Chapter 38 is amended by striking out "that" in the second line and substituting "than".

(2) Subsection 35(3) of Chapter 38 is amended by striking out "statement" in the second line and substituting "statements".

48 Subsection 39(2) of Chapter 38 is amended by adding "Summary" immediately after "Persons" in the second line.

PART XII

COMING INTO FORCE

49 Parts V, VII, VIII and IX come into force on such day as the Governor in Council orders and declares by proclamation.

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This page and its contents published by the Office of the Legislative Counsel, Nova Scotia House of Assembly, and © 2002 Crown in right of Nova Scotia. Updated May 31, 2002. Send comments to legc.office@gov.ns.ca.