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

Audits and Inquiries

Marginal note:Appointment of auditor

• 210.121 (1) The Federal Minister or the Provincial Minister, or both, may appoint any individual as auditor to measure and report on the effectiveness of the Board in carrying out its duties and functions under this Part. A report of the audit shall be made, as soon as practicable, to each of those Ministers and the Board.

• Marginal note:Access to information

  (2) The auditor is entitled to free access at all convenient times to information that relates to the fulfilment of their responsibilities and is also entitled to require and receive from the Board and from any persons or committees having duties or functions under this Part any information — including reports — and explanations that they consider necessary for that purpose.

• Marginal note:Inquiries

  (3) The auditor may examine any individual on oath on any matter pertaining to the effectiveness of the Board in carrying out its duties and functions under this Part and, for the purposes of an examination, may exercise all the powers of a commissioner under Part I of the Inquiries Act.

• Marginal note:Secondary release of information

  (4) Information — including reports — and explanations disclosed to the auditor under subsection (2) shall not be further disclosed by the auditor without the consent in writing of the person to whom it relates.

• Marginal note:Consideration of report

  (5) The Board shall consider the report of the audit and, within 60 days after the day on which the Board receives the report, it shall send to the auditor its written response to the report, and send a copy of that response to the Federal Minister and the Provincial Minister.

• Marginal note:Cost of audit

  (6) If the Federal Minister and the Provincial Minister jointly appoint the auditor, they may also jointly agree, with the consent in writing of the Minister of Mines and Energy of the Province, to require the cost of the audit to be borne by the Board. If only one of those Ministers appoints the auditor, that Minister shall pay the cost of the audit.

Marginal note:Inquiries

• 210.122 (1) The Federal Minister, the Provincial Minister, the Federal Minister jointly with the Provincial Minister or the Board may appoint one or more individuals to inquire into and report on occupational health and safety matters that are related to employment to which this Part applies.

• Marginal note:Powers of appointee

  (2) An individual who is appointed by the Federal Minister, by the Federal Minister jointly with the Provincial Minister or by the Board has all the powers of a person appointed as a commissioner under Part I of the Inquiries Act, and the powers that may be conferred on a commissioner under section 11 of that Act.

• Marginal note:Witnesses

  (3) Every witness who attends and gives evidence at an inquiry under this section is entitled to be paid reasonable travel and living expenses incurred by the witness in doing so and the witness fees prescribed in the tariff of fees in use in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia.

• Marginal note:Consideration of report

  (4) Once the Board receives a copy of the report, it shall consider the report and shall, within 60 days after the day on which it is received, send to the Federal Minister and the Provincial Minister its written response to the report.

• Marginal note:Directions to Board

  (5) If one or more individuals are appointed by a Minister or Ministers under subsection (1) in respect of a matter, the Minister or Ministers making the appointment may, if that Minister or those Ministers determine that an inquiry is being conducted under section 170 in respect of the same matter, direct that the Board terminate that inquiry and provide to that individual or those individuals any records or evidence collected in respect of the matter.

• Marginal note:Directions binding

  (6) The Board shall comply with a direction made under subsection (5).

• Marginal note:Costs of inquiry

  (7) If the Federal Minister and the Provincial Minister jointly appoint the individual or individuals under subsection (1), they may also jointly agree, with the consent in writing of the Minister of Mines and Energy of the Province, to require the cost of the inquiry to be borne by the Board. If only one of those Ministers appoints an individual or individuals under that subsection, that Minister shall pay the cost of the inquiry.

Documents in Electronic or Other Form

Marginal note:Definitions

210.123 The definitions in this section apply in this section and sections 210.124 and 210.125.

electronic document

electronic document means any form of representation of information or of concepts fixed in any medium in or by electronic, optical or other similar means and that can be read or perceived by an individual or by any means. (document électronique)

information system

information system means a system used to generate, send, receive, store or otherwise process an electronic document. (système d’information)

Marginal note:Use not mandatory

210.124 No provision of this Part or of the regulations made under this Part requires an electronic document to be created or provided.

Marginal note:Creation of information in writing

• 210.125 (1) A requirement under this Part that a notice, document or other information be created in writing is satisfied by the creation of an electronic document if

  • (a) the information in the electronic document is accessible so as to be usable for subsequent reference; and

  • (b) the regulations pertaining to this subsection, if any, have been complied with.

• Marginal note:Provision of information

  (2) A requirement under this Part that a notice, document or other information be provided under this Part, whether or not it is required to be provided in writing, is satisfied by the provision of an electronic document if

  • (a) the addressee has designated an information system for the receipt of the electronic document;

  • (b) the electronic document is provided to the designated information system, unless otherwise prescribed;

  • (c) the information in the electronic document is accessible by the addressee and capable of being retained by them, so as to be usable for subsequent reference; and

  • (d) the regulations pertaining to this subsection, if any, have been complied with.

• Marginal note:Requirement for consent

  (3) If a consent is required to be given in writing under this Part, the requirement is satisfied by the provision of an electronic document that signifies that consent has been given if

  • (a) the addressee has designated an information system for the receipt of the electronic document;

  • (b) the electronic document is provided to the designated information system, unless otherwise prescribed;

  • (c) the information in the electronic document that signifies that consent has been given is accessible by the addressee and capable of being retained by them, so as to be usable for subsequent reference; and

  • (d) the regulations pertaining to this subsection, if any, have been complied with.

• Marginal note:Exceptions

  (4) Despite subsection (2), the reasons referred to in subsection 210.059(5) and the decision referred to in subsection 210.1(3) shall be provided in writing.

Regulations

Marginal note:Regulations

• 210.126 (1) Subject to section 6 and on the recommendation of the Federal Minister and the Minister of Labour, the Governor in Council may make regulations generally for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Part, including regulations

  • (a) establishing requirements in respect of anything described in subsection 210.015(2) or 210.02(2);

  • (b) respecting the manner in which an operator is required to investigate under subsection 210.017(2) any occupational disease or any accident, incident or other hazardous occurrence;

  • (c) respecting the establishment, by an operator, of procedures for safe entry to or exit from a marine installation or structure and of standards for occupancy of a marine installation or structure;

  • (d) respecting the establishment of codes of practice, and specifying who is responsible for ensuring that those codes of practice are complied with;

  • (e) respecting the safety of work or activities that are carried out in a confined space, at heights, directly over water, under water, or of any work or activity that involves the use of explosives;

  • (f) respecting ergonomic standards and procedures for a workplace;

  • (g) respecting the establishment of standards for the design, installation and maintenance of the following things:

    • (i) guards, guard-rails, barricades, fences and other equipment of a similar nature,

    • (ii) boilers and pressure vessels,

    • (iii) escalators, elevators and other devices of a similar nature,

    • (iv) all equipment for the generation, distribution or use of electricity,

    • (v) gas-burning or oil-burning equipment or other heat-generating equipment, and

    • (vi) heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems;

  • (h) respecting the establishment of standards for the design and maintenance of equipment, machines, devices, materials and other things that may be used by employees in carrying out their job functions;

  • (i) respecting the circumstances and manner in which any thing referred to in paragraph (g) or (h) shall or shall not be used, and any qualifications that an individual is required to have in order to use it;

  • (j) specifying who is responsible for ensuring that the standards referred to in paragraphs (g) and (h) are complied with and that the things referred to in those paragraphs are used in the specified circumstances and manner and by individuals who have the required qualifications;

  • (k) respecting the establishment of standards relating to levels or limits for ventilation, lighting, temperature, humidity, sound and vibration and exposure to chemical agents, biological agents and radiation and specifying who is responsible for ensuring that those standards are complied with;

  • (l) respecting the qualifications of persons authorized to carry out prescribed training;

  • (m) respecting the establishment of fire safety and emergency measures, and specifying who is responsible for ensuring that those measures are complied with;

  • (n) respecting the provision, by an operator, an employer, or both, of sanitary and personal facilities, potable water, sustenance, and first-aid and health services;

  • (o) respecting the prevention of, and protection against, violence at the workplace;

  • (p) respecting the manner and form in which records are to be maintained and information communicated;

  • (q) respecting the manner in which programs for medical monitoring and examination referred to in paragraph 210.067(1)(f) are to be implemented, including restricting the types of interventions that may be used;

  • (r) respecting the procedures governing the granting of a permission under section 210.07 or 210.071, including any requirements for consultation or notice;

  • (s) specifying the equipment, methods, measures or standards or other things required by regulations made under this section in respect of which the granting of a permission under section 210.07 or 210.071 is prohibited;

  • (t) respecting the operation of an advisory council established under section 210.12;

  • (u) respecting any matter necessary for the purposes of the application of section 210.125, including

    • (i) the time and circumstances when, and the place where, an electronic document, as defined in section 210.123, is to be considered to have been provided or received, and

    • (ii) the circumstances in which a secure electronic signature, as defined in subsection 31(1) of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, is required to be linked to an electronic document, as defined in section 210.123; and

  • (v) prescribing anything that by this Part is to be prescribed.

• Marginal note:Incorporation by reference

  (2) Regulations made under subsection (1) may incorporate any material by reference, regardless of its source, either as it exists on a particular date or as amended from time to time.

• Marginal note:No registration or publication

  (3) For greater certainty, a document that is incorporated by reference into a regulation is not required to be transmitted for registration or published in the Canada Gazette by reason only that it is incorporated by reference.

• Marginal note:Regulations general or specific

  (4) Regulations made under subsection (1) may be made applicable to all persons or one or more classes of persons.

• Marginal note:Recommendation of Minister of Transport

  (5) Regulations made under subsection (1) in respect of employees and other passengers on a passenger craft, or the passenger craft, shall, in addition to the requirement set out in that subsection, be made on the recommendation of the Minister of Transport.

Marginal note:Publication of proposed regulations

• 210.127 (1) Subject to subsection (2), a copy of each regulation that the Governor in Council proposes to make under this Part shall be published in the Canada Gazette and a reasonable opportunity shall be given to interested persons to make representations to the Federal Minister with respect to it.

• Marginal note:Single publication required

  (2) No proposed regulation need be published more than once under subsection (1) whether or not it is altered or amended as a result of representations made by interested persons as provided in that subsection.

PART IVRevenue Sharing

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

211 The following definitions apply in this Part.

Consumption Tax Acts

Consumption Tax Acts means sections 2 and 3 and Parts I, IIA and IV of the Revenue Act, S.N.S. 1995-96, c. 17, as amended from time to time, and any other Act of the Legislature of the Province, as amended from time to time, as may be prescribed. (lois sur la taxe à la consommation)

Insurance Premiums Tax Act

Insurance Premiums Tax Act means the Insurance Premiums Tax Act, R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 232, as amended from time to time. (Loi sur la taxation des primes d’assurance)

Nova Scotia Income Tax Act

Nova Scotia Income Tax Act means the Income Tax Act, R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 217, as amended from time to time. (Loi néo-écossaise de l’impôt sur le revenu)

Revenue Account

Revenue Account means the account established under section 219. (Compte de recettes)

Imposition of Consumption Taxes

Marginal note:Imposition of consumption taxes in offshore area

• 212 (1) There shall be imposed, levied and collected under this Part in respect of the offshore area, in accordance with subsection (3), the taxes, interest, penalties and other sums that would be imposed, levied and collected under the Consumption Tax Acts if the offshore area were in the Province.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2) Despite subsection (1), if taxes are imposed in respect of any matter under any of the Consumption Tax Acts and taxes would, but for this subsection, be imposed under subsection (1) in respect of that matter, no taxes shall be imposed under subsection (1) in respect of that matter.

• Marginal note:Application of Nova Scotia legislation

  (3) Subject to this Act and the regulations made under it, the Consumption Tax Acts and the regulations referred to in subsection (3.1) apply, with any modifications that the circumstances require, for the purposes of this Part and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing,

  • (a) a reference in those Acts to Her Majesty in right of the Province is to be read as a reference to Her Majesty in right of Canada;

  • (b) a reference in those Acts to the Province is to be read as a reference to the offshore area; and

  • (c) a reference in those Acts to the Minister responsible for the administration of any of those Acts or to the Provincial Tax Commissioner is to be read as a reference to the Minister of Finance.

• Marginal note:Nova Scotia regulations

  (3.1) The following regulations apply for the purposes of subsection (3):

  • (a) any regulations made under the Consumption Tax Acts;

  • (b) any regulations made under an Act that was replaced by a Part of the Revenue Act, S.N.S. 1995-96, c. 17, that is referred to in the definition Consumption Tax Acts in section 211 to the extent that those regulations remain in force in accordance with the laws of the Province and are not inconsistent with that Part; and

  • (c) any regulations made under the Sales Tax Act, S.N.S. 1996, c. 31, as amended from time to time.

• Marginal note:Binding on certain entities

  (4) This section is binding on

  • (a) the corporations mentioned in Schedule I to the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act, if Nova Scotia is a participating province as defined in subsection 31(1) of that Act; and

  • (b) the corporations mentioned in Schedule II to that Act.