BILL NO. 124
1st Session, 57th General Assembly
Nova Scotia
47-48 Elizabeth II, 1998-99
Red Tape Reduction Act
Gordon Balser
Digby-Annapolis
First Reading: June 17, 1999
Second Reading:
Third Reading:
An Act to Eliminate Obsolete,
Unnecessary or Confusing
Government Requirements in Nova Scotia
Be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:
1 This Act may be cited as the Red Tape Reduction Act.
2 The purpose of this Act is to eliminate obsolete, unnecessary or confusing Government requirements that prevent job creation in the Province or that waste taxpayers' time or money.
3 In this Act,
(a) "agency of Government" means an agency of Government as defined in the Auditor General Act but does not include a department;
(b) "Commissioner" means the Red Tape Reduction Commissioner appointed pursuant to this Act.
(c) "department" means a department established pursuant to the Public Service Act or an agency of Government;
(d) "deputy head" means the deputy of the member of the Executive Council providing over a department or, in the case of an agency of Government, the chief executive officer of the agency.
4 (1) Within three months of this Act coming into force, the Governor in Council shall appoint a Red Tape Reduction Commissioner for such terms and upon such conditions as the Governor in Council shall determine.
(2) The Commissioner shall report to the Premier but is independent of the Government of the Province.
5 The mandate of the Commissioner is to
(a) work with the Executive Council and departments to begin the task of removing unnecessary barriers to job creation, economic growth and better government in the Province; and
(b) develop ways of changing the regulatory structure in the Province to prevent more such barriers from being created in the future.
6 Within three months of this Act coming into force, the deputy head of each department shall appoint a senior employee of the department to liaise with the Commissioner.
7 (1) The Commissioner shall annually submit to the Premier a report respecting the work of the Commissioner.
(2) The Commissioner shall, within one year of taking office, submit the first report required by this Section.
(3) Within thirty days of receiving the report, the Premier shall table the report in the House of Assembly if it is then sitting or, if it is not then sitting, within ten days of its next sitting.
8 (1) All regulations proposed to be made by the Governor in Council, a member of the Executive Council or an agency of Government, or proposed to be approved by the Governor in Council or a member of the Executive Council, shall be reviewed to prevent proposed regulations from introducing new barriers to job creation, economic growth or better government.
(2) In reviewing proposed regulations pursuant to this Section, the following questions shall be considered:
(a) is there a need to intervene?
(b) what alternatives have been explored?
(c) who has been consulted and the results been considered?
(d) do the benefits outweigh the costs?
(e) how will the regulations affect the Province in competitiveness?
(f) do the regulations duplicate or conflict with what other levels of government are doing?
(g) are provisions to review or end the regulations included in the regulations?
9 (1) All regulations coming into force after the coming into force of this Act cease to have any force or effect five years after coming into force unless sooner extended or re-enacted.
(2) All regulations in effect immediately before the coming into force of this Act cease to have any force or effect five years after the coming into force of this Act unless sooner extended or re-enacted.
(3) For greater certainty, subsection (1) applies to regulations extended or re-enacted pursuant to subsection (1) and such regulations are deemed to have come into force upon such extension or re-enactment.
(4) For greater certainty, nothing in this Section prevents regulations that, pursuant to this Section, have ceased to have force and effect from being re-enacted with or without change.
10 The moneys required for the purpose of this Act shall be paid out of the moneys appropriated by the Legislature for that purpose.
This page and its contents published by the Office of the Legislative Counsel, Nova Scotia House of Assembly, and © 1999 Crown in right of Nova Scotia. Created June 17, 1999. Send comments to legc.office@gov.ns.ca.
