Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act (S.C. 1988, c. 28)

Marginal note:Compensation of employees

210.102 Time spent by an employee attending proceedings under section 210.101 as a party, or as a witness as a result of a summons, is considered to be work time for which the employee shall be paid the same wages and granted the same benefits that the employee would have received had they worked for that time.

Marginal note:Non-application of Federal Courts Act

210.103 For the purposes of the Federal Courts Act, neither the Board, the Chief Safety Officer nor a health and safety officer, when exercising or purporting to exercise jurisdiction or powers conferred on them under this Part, is a federal board, commission or other tribunal as defined in subsection 2(1) of that Act.

Enforcement of Monetary Orders

Marginal note:Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

• 210.104 (1) An order of an occupational health and safety officer made under any of subsections 210.063(1) to (3) that has not been appealed or an order of the provincial labour board under subsection 210.101(9) requiring payment of wages or benefit entitlements to an employee may, for the purpose of its enforcement, be made an order of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia and shall be enforced in the same manner as any order of that Court.

• Marginal note:Procedure for enforcement

  (2) To make the order an order of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, the rules of practice and procedure established under the Provincial Occupational Health and Safety Act for making any order an order of that Court may be followed.

• Marginal note:When order rescinded or replaced

  (3) After an order has been made an order of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, any subsequent order rescinding or replacing the first order has the effect of cancelling the order of the Court, and that subsequent order may be made an order of that Court in the same manner.

Marginal note:Nova Scotia Director of Labour Standards

• 210.105 (1) The Chief Safety Officer may request the Director of Labour Standards designated under the Labour Standards Code, R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 246, as amended from time to time, to enforce an order referred to in section 210.104.

• Marginal note:Provincial labour board

  (2) For the purpose of enforcement under subsection (1), an order shall be made an order of the provincial labour board and may be enforced in the same manner as an order of that board.

• Marginal note:Provisions applicable to enforcement

  (3) Section 72 of the Provincial Occupational Health and Safety Act applies to the enforcement of an order, with any modifications that the circumstances require, including the substitution of the Chief Safety Officer for the Director in subsections 72(3), (5) and (6) of that Act.

Offences and Penalties

Marginal note:Offences

• 210.106 (1) Every person is guilty of an offence who

  • (a) contravenes any provision of this Part or of the regulations made under this Part;

  • (b) makes any false entry or statement in any report, record or other document required by this Part or the regulations made under this Part or by any order made under this Part;

  • (c) destroys, damages or falsifies any report, record or other document required by this Part or the regulations made under this Part or by any order made under this Part;

  • (d) fails to comply with an order of a health and safety officer;

  • (e) fails to comply with a requirement of the Chief Safety Officer under section 210.016 or 210.021;

  • (f) fails to comply with a decision of the Chief Safety Officer under section 210.1; or

  • (g) fails to comply with an order of the provincial labour board under subsection 210.101(9).

• Marginal note:Punishment

  (2) Every person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (1) is liable

  • (a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or to both; or

  • (b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or to both.

• Marginal note:Offence  — paragraph (1)(a)

  (3) Despite paragraph (1)(a), a person who contravenes paragraph 210.013(l) or (m), 210.019(1)(k), 210.035(b) or 210.036(1)(b) is not guilty of an offence unless compliance with that paragraph is necessary to protect occupational health and safety.

• Marginal note:Self-incrimination

  (4) No individual shall be excused from recording in accordance with section 210.013 or 210.019 instances of non-compliance and any corrective action taken on the grounds that any information given by them may tend to incriminate them or subject them to any proceeding or penalty, but the information, or any evidence derived from it, may not be used or received to incriminate that individual in any criminal proceeding initiated against them, other than a prosecution under section 132, 136 or 137 of the Criminal Code.

• Marginal note:Due diligence defence

  (5) No person shall be found guilty of an offence under subsection (1) if they establish that they exercised due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence.

Marginal note:Offence by officers, etc., of corporation

• 210.107 (1) If a corporation commits an offence under this Part, any of the following individuals who directed, authorized, assented to, acquiesced in or participated in the commission of the offence is a party to and guilty of the offence and is liable on conviction to the punishment provided for the offence, whether or not the corporation has been prosecuted or convicted:

  • (a) an officer, director or agent of the corporation; and

  • (b) any other individual exercising managerial or supervisory functions in the corporation.

• Marginal note:Offence by employee or agent

  (2) In a prosecution for an offence under this Part, it is sufficient proof of the offence to establish that it was committed by an employee or agent of the accused, whether or not the employee or agent is identified or has been prosecuted for the offence.

Marginal note:Imprisonment precluded in certain cases

210.108 If an individual is convicted of an offence under this Part on proceedings by way of summary conviction, no imprisonment may be imposed in default of payment of any fine imposed as punishment.

Marginal note:Orders of court

• 210.109 (1) If a person is convicted of an offence under this Part, the court may, having regard to the nature of the offence and the circumstances surrounding its commission, in addition to any other punishment that may be imposed under this Part, make an order that has any or all of the following effects:

  • (a) prohibiting the offender from committing an act or engaging in an activity that may, in the opinion of the court, result in the continuation or repetition of the offence;

  • (b) directing the offender to take any measures that the court considers appropriate to avoid any harm to health or safety that may result from the act or omission that constituted the offence, or to remedy any harm to health or safety resulting from it;

  • (c) directing the offender, at the offender’s own expense, to publish, in any manner that the court directs, the facts relating to the offence;

  • (d) directing the offender to submit to the Chief Safety Officer, on application by that Officer within three years after the conviction, any information with respect to the offender’s activities that the court considers appropriate in the circumstances;

  • (e) directing the offender to pay to the Board an amount of money that the court considers appropriate for the purpose of conducting research, education and training in occupational health and safety matters;

  • (f) directing the offender to perform community service, subject to any reasonable conditions that may be imposed by the court;

  • (g) directing the offender to post a bond or pay an amount of money into court that the court considers appropriate to ensure that the offender complies with any prohibition, direction, requirement or condition that is specified in the order; and

  • (h) requiring the offender to comply with any conditions that the court considers appropriate in the circumstances for securing the offender’s good conduct and for preventing the offender from repeating the same offence or committing another offence under this Part.

• Marginal note:Coming into force and duration of order

  (2) An order made under subsection (1) comes into force on the day on which the order is made or on any other day that the court may determine, but shall not continue in force for more than three years after that day.

• Marginal note:Publication

  (3) If an offender does not comply with an order under paragraph (1)(c) requiring the publication of facts relating to the offence, the Chief Safety Officer may publish the facts and recover the costs of publication from the offender.

Marginal note:Variation of sanctions

• 210.11 (1) Subject to subsection (2), if a court has made an order under subsection 210.109(1), the court may, on application by the offender or the Chief Safety Officer, require the offender to appear before it and, after hearing the offender and the Chief Safety Officer, vary the order in one or more of the following ways that the court considers appropriate because of a change in the circumstances of the offender since the order was made:

  • (a) by making changes to any prohibition, direction, requirement or condition that is specified in the order or by extending the time during which the order is to remain in force for any period, not exceeding one year, that the court considers appropriate; or

  • (b) by decreasing the time during which the order is to remain in force or by relieving the offender, either absolutely or partially or for any period that the court considers appropriate, of compliance with any condition that is specified in the order.

• Marginal note:Notice

  (2) Before making an order under subsection (1), the court may direct that notice be given to any persons that the court considers to be interested and may hear any of those persons.