Canada–Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation and Offshore Renewable Energy Management Act (S.C. 1988, c. 28)

Marginal note:Issuance and service of notice of violation

• 207.06 (1) If a person designated under paragraph 207.02(b) believes on reasonable grounds that a person has committed a violation, the designated person may issue a notice of violation and cause it to be served on the person.

• Marginal note:Contents

  (2) The notice of violation shall

  • (a) name the person that is believed to have committed the violation;

  • (b) set out the relevant facts surrounding the violation;

  • (c) set out the amount of the penalty for the violation;

  • (d) inform the person of their right, under section 207.2, to request a review with respect to the amount of the penalty or the facts of the violation, and of the prescribed period within which that right is to be exercised;

  • (e) inform the person of the manner of paying the penalty set out in the notice; and

  • (f) inform the person that, if they do not pay the penalty or exercise their right referred to in paragraph (d), they will be considered to have committed the violation and that they are liable to the penalty set out in the notice.

Rules About Violations

Marginal note:Certain defences not available

• 207.07 (1) A person named in a notice of violation does not have a defence by reason that the person

  • (a) exercised due diligence to prevent the commission of the violation; or

  • (b) reasonably and honestly believed in the existence of facts that, if true, would exonerate the person.

• Marginal note:Common law principles

  (2) Every rule and principle of the common law that renders any circumstance a justification or excuse in relation to a charge for an offence under this Part applies in respect of a violation to the extent that it is not inconsistent with this Part.

Marginal note:Continuing violation

207.08 A violation that is committed or continued on more than one day constitutes a separate violation for each day on which it is committed or continued.

Marginal note:Violation or offence

• 207.09 (1) Proceeding with any act or omission as a violation under this Part precludes proceeding with it as an offence under this Part, and proceeding with it as an offence under this Part precludes proceeding with it as a violation under this Part.

• Marginal note:Violations not offences

  (2) For greater certainty, a violation is not an offence and, accordingly, section 126 of the Criminal Code does not apply in respect of a violation.

Marginal note:Limitation or prescription period

207.1 No notice of violation is to be issued more than two years after the day on which the matter giving rise to the violation occurred.

Reviews

Marginal note:Right to request review

207.2 A person who is served with a notice of violation may, within 30 days after the day on which it is served, or within any longer period that the Regulator allows, make a request to the Regulator for a review of the amount of the penalty or the facts of the violation, or both.

Marginal note:Correction or cancellation of notice of violation

207.3 At any time before a request for a review in respect of a notice of violation is received by the Regulator, a person designated under paragraph 207.02(b) may cancel the notice of violation or correct an error in it.

Marginal note:Review

• 207.4 (1) On receipt of a request made under section 207.2, the Regulator shall conduct the review or cause the review to be conducted by a person designated under paragraph 207.02(d).

• Marginal note:Restriction

  (2) The Regulator shall conduct the review if the notice of violation was issued by a person designated under paragraph 207.02(d).

Marginal note:Object of review

• 207.5 (1) The Regulator or the person conducting the review shall determine, as the case may be, whether the amount of the penalty for the violation was determined in accordance with the regulations or whether the person committed the violation, or both.

• Marginal note:Determination

  (2) The Regulator or the person conducting the review shall render a determination and the reasons for it in writing and cause the person who requested the review to be served with a copy of them.

• Marginal note:Correction of penalty

  (3) If the Regulator or the person conducting the review determines that the amount of the penalty for the violation was not determined in accordance with the regulations, the Regulator or the person, as the case may be, shall correct the amount of the penalty.

• Marginal note:Responsibility

  (4) If the Regulator or the person conducting the review determines that the person who requested the review committed the violation, the person who requested the review is liable to the penalty as set out in the notice issued under section 207.06 or as set out in the determination if the amount of the penalty was corrected under subsection (3).

• Marginal note:Determination final

  (5) A determination made under this section is final and binding and, subject to review by the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, is not subject to appeal or to review by any court.

Marginal note:Burden of proof

207.6 If the facts of a violation are reviewed, the person who issued the notice of violation shall establish, on a balance of probabilities, that the person named in it committed the violation identified in it.

Responsibility

Marginal note:Payment

207.7 If a person pays the penalty set out in a notice of violation, the person is considered to have committed the violation and proceedings in respect of it are ended.

Marginal note:Failure to act

207.8 A person that neither pays the penalty imposed under this Part nor requests a review in the period referred to in section 207.2 is considered to have committed the violation and is liable to the penalty.

Recovery of Penalties

Marginal note:Debt to Her Majesty

• 207.9 (1) A penalty constitutes a debt due to Her Majesty in right of the Province and may be recovered in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia.

• Marginal note:Limitation period

  (2) No proceedings to recover the debt are to be instituted more than five years after the day on which the debt becomes payable.

Marginal note:Certificate

• 207.91 (1) The Regulator may issue a certificate of non-payment certifying the unpaid amount of any debt referred to in subsection 207.9(1).

• Marginal note:Registration

  (2) Registration in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia of a certificate of non-payment issued under subsection (1) has the same effect as a judgment of that court for a debt of the amount specified in the certificate and all related registration costs.

General

Marginal note:Admissibility of documents

207.92 In the absence of evidence to the contrary, a document that appears to be a notice issued under subsection 207.06(1) is presumed to be authentic and is proof of its contents in any proceeding in respect of a violation.

Marginal note:Publication

207.93 The Regulator may make public the nature of a violation, the name of the person who committed it and the amount of the penalty.

Regulations

Marginal note:Regulations

208 Subject to section 6, the Governor in Council may make such regulations not inconsistent with this Part as may be deemed necessary for carrying out the purposes of this Part, and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, may make regulations defining and distinguishing more particularly for the purposes of Divisions I and II the terms “oil” and “gas”.

Application

Marginal note:Application

209 This Part applies to every interest or right in petroleum acquired or vested before the coming into force of this section and is binding on Her Majesty in right of Canada or a province.

Transitional

Marginal note:Operating licences

• 210 (1) Where an operating licence was issued under subsection 3.2(1) of the Oil and Gas Production and Conservation Act and is in force on the coming into force of this section, it shall be deemed to be an operating licence issued by the Regulator under this Part.

• Marginal note:Authorizations and development plan approval

  (2) Where, prior to the coming into force of this section, authorization for any work or activity or approval of a development plan was given under subsection 3.2(1) of the Oil and Gas Production and Conservation Act or any regulation made under that Act, the authorization or approval shall be deemed to have been given by the Regulator under this Part.

PART III.1Occupational Health and Safety

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

• 210.001 (1) The following definitions apply in this Part.

  authorization

  authorization means an authorization issued under paragraph 142(1)(b) or subsection 142.011(1). (autorisation)

  Chief Safety Officer

  Chief Safety Officer means the person designated as the Chief Safety Officer under section 144. (délégué à la sécurité)

  committee

  committee means a special committee and a workplace committee. (comité)

  coordinator

  coordinator means an employee designated under subsection 210.045(1) to act as an occupational health and safety coordinator. (coordonnateur)

  declaration

  declaration means a declaration referred to in subsection 143.1(1) or (2). (déclaration)

  employee

  employee means an individual who, in return for monetary compensation, performs work or services for an employer in respect of a work or activity for which an authorization has been issued. (employé)

  employer

  employer means a person who employs or contracts for the services of any individual in respect of a work or activity for which an authorization has been issued, if that person has the power to exercise direction and control over the individual’s work at the workplace. (employeur)

  hazardous substance

  hazardous substance includes a controlled product and any chemical, biological or physical agent that, by reason of a property that the agent possesses, is hazardous to the health or safety of an individual exposed to it. (substance dangereuse)

  health and safety officer

  health and safety officer means an occupational health and safety officer or a special officer. (agent de santé et de sécurité)

  interest holder

  interest holder has the same meaning as in section 49. (Version anglaise seulement)

  marine installation or structure

  marine installation or structure

  • (a) includes

    • (i) any ship, including any ship used for construction, production or diving or for geotechnical or seismic work,

    • (ii) any offshore drilling unit, including a mobile offshore drilling unit,

    • (iii) any production platform, subsea installation, pipeline as defined in section 138, pumping station or storage structure,

    • (iii.1) any facility or structure used for producing, storing or transmitting an offshore renewable energy product, including an electrical substation,

    • (iii.2) any living accommodation or loading or landing platform, and

    • (iv) any other work, or work within a class of works, prescribed under paragraph (4)(a); but

  • (b) does not include

    • (i) any vessel, including any supply vessel, standby vessel, shuttle tanker or seismic chase vessel, that provides any supply or support services to a ship, installation, facility, structure, work or anything else described in paragraph (a), unless the vessel is within a class of vessels that is prescribed under paragraph (4)(b), or

    • (ii) any ship or vessel within a class of ships or vessels prescribed under paragraph (4)(c). (ouvrage en mer)

  Nova Scotia social legislation

  Nova Scotia social legislation means the provisions of the following Acts, as those Acts are amended from time to time: the Human Rights Act, R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 214, the Labour Standards Code, R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 246, the Workers’ Compensation Act, S.N.S. 1994-95, c.10, and the Health Protection Act, S.N.S. 2004, c. 4. (lois sociales)

  occupational health and safety officer

  occupational health and safety officer means an individual designated by the Federal Minister under section 210.072. (agent de santé et de sécurité au travail)

  operator

  operator means a person who holds an authorization. (exploitant)

  owner

  owner means a person who has a right, title or interest, including a leasehold interest, recognized by law, in a marine installation or structure that is used or is to be used as a workplace, or any entity in which the person has vested all or any part of their right, title or interest. (propriétaire)

  passenger craft

  passenger craft means any aircraft or vessel used to transport employees to or from a workplace while — and immediately before — it is transporting them. (véhicule de transport)

  person

  person includes individuals, corporations and partnerships. (personne)

  personal protective equipment

  personal protective equipment includes personal protective clothing, personal protective devices and personal protective materials. (équipement de protection personnelle)

  provider of services

  provider of services means a person who, for commercial gain,

  • (a) provides services related to the placement with an operator or employer of individuals who, in return for monetary compensation, perform work or services for the operator or employer at a workplace; or

  • (b) provides services that affect or could affect the health or safety of employees or other individuals at a workplace or on a passenger craft, including engineering services, architectural services, the services of a certifying authority referred to in subsection 143.2(6), or the services of any person who provides information or advice, issues a certificate or affixes a professional seal or stamp. (fournisseur de services)

  Provincial Minister

  Provincial Minister means the minister of the government of the Province who is responsible for occupational health and safety. (ministre provincial)

  special committee

  special committee means a special committee established under section 210.046. (comité spécial)

  special officer

  special officer means an individual designated under section 210.073. (agent spécial)

  supervisor

  supervisor means an employee who is in charge of a workplace or part of a workplace or who has authority over other employees. (superviseur)

  supplier

  supplier means a person who, for commercial gain, manufactures, supplies, sells, leases, distributes or installs any tool, equipment, machine or device, any biological, chemical, or physical agent or any other prescribed thing, to be used at a workplace or on a passenger craft. (fournisseur de biens)

  union

  union means a trade union as defined in the Trade Union Act, R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 475, as amended from time to time, that has the status of a bargaining agent under that Act in respect of any bargaining unit at a workplace, or any organization representing employees that has exclusive bargaining rights under any other Act of the Legislature of the Province in respect of those employees. (syndicat)

  workplace

  workplace means

  • (a) any marine installation or structure where an employee is employed in connection with a work or activity for which an authorization has been issued;

  • (b) any workboat used by an employee, and operated from a marine installation or structure, to perform routine maintenance or repair work in connection with a work or activity for which an authorization has been issued; and

  • (c) any dive site from which, and any underwater area at which, a diving operation is conducted by an employee in connection with a work or activity for which an authorization has been issued. (lieu de travail)

  workplace committee

  workplace committee means a workplace committee established under section 210.043. (comité du lieu de travail)

• Marginal note:Hazardous Products Act definitions

  (2) In this Part, controlled product, hazard symbol, Ingredient Disclosure List, label and material safety data sheet have the same meanings as in section 2 and subsection 11(1) of the Hazardous Products Act. Subsection 11(2) of that Act also applies for the purposes of this Part.

• Marginal note:Regulations

  (3) Subject to section 6 and on the recommendation of the Federal Minister and the Minister of Labour, the Governor in Council may make regulations

  • (a) defining danger, dive site, diving operation and incident for the purposes of this Part; and

  • (b) amending the definition Nova Scotia social legislation in subsection (1) to add any Act of the Legislature of the Province or to remove any Act from the definition.

• Marginal note:Regulations

  (4) Subject to section 6 and on the recommendation of the Federal Minister, the Minister of Labour and the Minister of Transport, the Governor in Council may make regulations

  • (a) prescribing a work or a class of works for the purposes of subparagraph (a)(iv) of the definition marine installation or structure in subsection (1);

  • (b) prescribing a class of vessels for the purposes of subparagraph (b)(i) of the definition marine installation or structure in subsection (1); and

  • (c) prescribing a class of ships or vessels for the purposes of subparagraph (b)(ii) of the definition marine installation or structure in subsection (1).

• Marginal note:Employees in transit

  (5) For the purposes of sections 210.005, 210.007 and 210.008, an employee is deemed to be at a workplace within the offshore area while — and immediately before — the employee is being transported on a passenger craft between the last point of embarkation on shore and the workplace, between the workplace and the first point of disembarkation on shore, or between workplaces.