BILL NO. 136

(as introduced)

2nd Session, 58th General Assembly
Nova Scotia
51 Elizabeth II, 2002

Private Member's Bill

An Act to Prohibit Smoking in Public Places

Maureen MacDonald
Halifax Needham

First Reading: May 24, 2002

Second Reading:

Third Reading:

An Act to Prohibit Smoking in Public Places

Be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:

1 This Act may be cited as the Smoke-free Public Places Act.

2 In this Act,

(a) "employee" means a person who is employed to do work and includes a dependent contractor as defined in the Occupational Health and Safety Act;

(b) "employer" means a person who employs one or more employees or contracts for the services of one or more employees;

(c) "enclosed place" means the inside or other enclosed part of a building, vehicle, tent or watercraft or other indoor space and includes an adjacent corridor, lobby, stairwell, elevator, escalator, eating area, washroom or restroom or the common area frequented by employees during the course of their employment, but does not include a private residence;

(d) "inspector" means an inspector appointed pursuant to this Act;

(e) "manager" of an enclosed place referred to in Section 6 means any person who has responsibility for and control over the activities of the place, and includes the owner of the place;

(f) "Minister" means the Minister of Health;

(g) "school" means a public or private elementary or secondary school;

(h) "smoke" means to smoke, hold or otherwise have control over ignited tobacco;

(i) "tobacco" means tobacco as defined in Part III of the Revenue Act;

(j) "workplace" means any enclosed place where an employee is or is likely to be engaged in any occupation and includes any vehicle or mobile equipment used in any occupation when occupied by two or more persons, but does not include a rental unit of roofed accommodation within the meaning of the Tourist Accommodations Act.

3 (1) This Act binds Her Majesty in right of the Province.

(2) Nothing in this Act affects the rights of aboriginal people respecting traditional aboriginal spiritual or cultural practices or ceremonies.

4 The Minister has the general supervision and management of this Act.

5 (1) No person shall smoke in any workplace.

(2) No employer shall permit smoking in any workplace.

6 (1) For greater certainty and notwithstanding that employees may or may not be present, no person shall smoke in any enclosed place that is or includes

(a) a daycare or pre-school;

(b) a school, community college or university;

(c) a library, art gallery or museum;

(d) a health-care facility;

(e) a cinema or theatre;

(f) a video arcade or pool hall;

(g) a recreational facility where the primary activity is physical recreation, including, but not limited to, a bowling alley, fitness centre, gymnasium, pool or rink;

(h) a multi-service centre, community centre or hall, arena, fire hall or church hall;

(i) a meeting or conference room or hall, ballroom or conference centre;

(j) a retail shop, boutique, market or store or shopping mall;

(k) a laundromat;

(l) a ferry, ferry terminal, bus, bus station or shelter, taxi, taxi shelter, limousine or vehicle carrying passengers for hire;

(m) the common area of a commercial building or multi-unit residential building including, but not limited to, corridors, lobbies, stairwells, elevators, escalators, eating areas, washrooms and restrooms;

(n) offices of the Government of the Province, a municipality, a village or a school board, or any agency thereof;

(o) a provincial jail, prison, detention centre, lock-up or reformatory or another provincial penal institution; or

(p) any building or facility designated by the regulations.

(2) No person shall smoke on the grounds of a school.

(3) No manager of an enclosed place referred to in subsection (1) or of the grounds of a school shall permit any person to smoke in that place or on those grounds.

(4) No person shall smoke in an outdoor area within four metres of an intake for a building ventilation system, an open window of a place of employment or an entrance to a place of employment.

7 The Minister shall annually table a report in the House of Assembly describing the activities and results of all programs directed at reducing the number of youth who are smoking and the report shall include the following:

(a) a description of the smoking cessation programs in place to help youth who have started smoking;

(b) a description of educational programs in place to promote a smoke-free lifestyle among youth;

(c) the costs of delivering all cessation and educational programs directed at youth;

(d) the number of individuals, reported by county of residence, who participated in such programs during the reporting period and to date;

(e) a summary of the program-evaluation methodology employed to determine the success of these programs and the results such evaluations demonstrate;

(f) a listing of all recommendations for program improvements and funding levels made by program administrators arising from the program-evaluation process;

(g) a description of all compliance initiatives undertaken and a summary of related statistical information; and

(h) the revenue generated for the Province from the sale of tobacco products.

8 (1) The Minister may appoint or designate inspectors for the purpose of this Act.

(2) For the purpose of ensuring compliance with this Act and the regulations, an inspector may

(a) enter and inspect any place to which this Act applies, at any reasonable time without warrant or notice, and make such examinations and inquiries and conduct such tests as the inspector considers necessary or advisable;

(b) be accompanied and assisted by any person who, in the opinion of the inspector, has special knowledge or expertise;

(c) make enquiries of any person who is or was in a place to which this Act applies;

(d) require the production of drawings, specifications, floor plans, maintenance records or other documents for a place to which this Act applies and may inspect, examine, copy or seize them;

(e) exercise such other powers as are prescribed by the regulations;

(f) exercise such powers as are incidental to the powers set out in clauses (a) to (e).

(3) No person shall obstruct, interfere with or fail to co-operate with an inspector in the execution of the inspector's duties under this Act.

9 (1) Where an inspector finds that a manager or employer is not complying with a provision of this Act, the inspector may order the manager or employer to comply with the provision and may require the order to be carried out immediately or within such period of time as the inspector specifies.

(2) An order made pursuant to subsection (1) shall indicate generally the nature and, where appropriate, the location of the non-compliance with this Act.

10 (1) Every person, other than a manager or employer, who contravenes this Act or the regulations or fails to comply with an order made pursuant to this Act or the regulations is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than two thousand dollars.

(2) Every manager or employer who contravenes this Act or the regulations or fails to comply with an order made pursuant to this Act or the regulations is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction for a first offence to a fine of not more than twenty thousand dollars, for a second offence to a fine of not more than fifty thousand dollars and for a third or subsequent offence to a fine of not more than one hundred thousand dollars.

(3) In addition to any penalty levied pursuant to subsection (2) upon conviction for an offence contrary to this Act, an authority authorized to suspend or cancel any licence or permit issued in respect of the premises where the offence was committed may suspend or cancel that licence or permit.

11 (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations

(a) designating any building or facility for the purpose of Section 6;

(b) prescribing the records to be kept by employers and managers for the purpose of ensuring compliance with this Act and the regulations;

(c) requiring the posting of signs for the purpose of this Act;

(d) prescribing powers and duties of inspectors;

(e) defining any other word or expression used but not defined in this Act;

(f) further defining any word or expression defined in this Act;

(g) respecting any matter that the Governor in Council considers necessary or advisable to carry out effectively the intent and purpose of this Act.

(2) A regulation made pursuant to this Act may be of general application or may apply to such individual or individuals, such class or classes of persons, such class or classes of places or such class or classes of matters or things as the Governor in Council determines and there may be different regulations with respect to different individuals, different classes of persons, different classes of places and different classes of matters or things.

(3) The exercise by the Governor in Council of the authority contained in subsection (1) is regulations within the meaning of the Regulations Act.

12 (1) Nothing in this Act affects any other authority to regulate, restrict or prohibit smoking.

(2) Where there is a conflict between this Act and any other authority, regulating, restricting or prohibiting smoking, the more restrictive authority prevails to the extent of the conflict.

13 Chapter 10 of the Acts of 1994-95, the Workers' Compensation Act, is amended by adding immediately after Section 36 the following Section:

14 This Act comes into force on January 1, 2003.

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This page and its contents published by the Office of the Legislative Counsel, Nova Scotia House of Assembly, and © 2002 Crown in right of Nova Scotia. Updated May 24, 2002. Send comments to legc.office@novascotia.ca.