BILL NO. 5
(as introduced)
3rd Session, 63rd General Assembly
Nova Scotia
70 Elizabeth II, 2021
Private Member's Bill
Lyme Disease Strategy Act
Tim Houston
Pictou East
First Reading: March 11, 2021
Second Reading:
Third Reading:
An Act Respecting
a Lyme Disease Strategy for Nova Scotia
Be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:
1 This Act may be cited as the Lyme Disease Strategy Act.
(a) "Department" means the Department of Health and Wellness;
(b) "health authority" means a health authority within the meaning of the Health Authorities Act;
(c) "Minister" means the Minister of Health and Wellness;
(d) "Provincial strategy" means a Provincial strategy to address the challenges of the recognition and timely diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease.
3 The Minister shall, within six months after this Act comes into force, convene a conference with stakeholders, including representatives of the medical community and patients’ groups, for the purpose of developing a comprehensive Provincial strategy that includes
(a) the establishment of a Provincial medical surveillance program to use data collected by the Department and health authorities to properly track incidence rates and the associated economic costs of Lyme disease;
(b) the establishment of guidelines regarding the prevention, identification, treatment and management of Lyme disease, including a recommended Provincial standard of care that reflects current best practices for the treatment of Lyme disease; and
(c) the creation and distribution of standardized educational materials related to Lyme disease, for use by any public health-care provider within the Province, designed to increase Provincial awareness about the disease and enhance its prevention, identification, treatment and management.
4 The Minister shall prepare a report that sets out the Provincial strategy and publish the report on the Department website within one year after the conclusion of the conference referred to in Section 3.
5 The Minister shall, within 10 days of the publication of the report referred to in Section 4, table the report in the Assembly if the Assembly is then sitting or, where it is not then sitting, file the report with the Clerk of the Assembly.
(a) complete a review of the effectiveness of the Provincial strategy no later than five years after the day on which the report referred to in Section 4 is published on the Department website; and
(b) within 10 days of the completion of the review, table a report on its findings in the Assembly if the Assembly is then sitting or, where it is not then sitting, file the report with the Clerk of the Assembly.
7 (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations respecting any matter or thing the Governor in Council considers necessary or advisable to effectively carry out the intent and purpose of this Act.
(2) The exercise by the Governor in Council of the authority contained in subsection (1) is a regulation within the meaning of the Regulations Act.
This page and its contents published by the Office of the Legislative Counsel, Nova Scotia House of Assembly, and © 2021 Crown in right of Nova Scotia. Created March 11, 2021. Send comments to legc.office@novascotia.ca.
