BILL NO. 217
(as introduced)
1st Session, 65th General Assembly
Nova Scotia
4 Charles III, 2026
Private Member's Public Bill
Misuse of Non-disclosure Agreements Act
The Honourable Derek Mombourquette
Sydney–Membertou
First Reading: March 3, 2026
Second Reading:
Third Reading:
An Act to Stop the Misuse
of Non-disclosure Agreements
Be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:
1 This Act may be cited as the Misuse of Non-disclosure Agreements Act.
2 The purpose of this Act is to
(a) stop the misuse of non-disclosure agreements to conceal violence, coercion, coercive control, harassment or discrimination;
(b) protect persons unfairly impacted by the use of non-disclosure agreements while acknowledging that non-disclosure agreements disproportionately harm women, 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals and racialized individuals, especially in matters involving sexual violence, gender-based violence, harassment or unequal power dynamics in schools, workplaces and public institutions; and
(c) prevent the use of non-disclosure agreements to conceal misconduct or systemic abuse in workplaces and public institutions.
"coercion" means a deliberate act of intimidation, pressure or manipulation used to force a person to do something against the person's will, where any consent is not considered valid due to the duress involved, and includes physical force, verbal threats, emotional manipulation, isolation or control and is relevant in contexts such as sexual activity, intimate-partner violence and interpersonal relations;
"coercive control" means a repeated pattern of controlling and intimidating behaviour, including threats, isolation or manipulation, that is intended to eliminate a person's autonomy;
"discrimination" means discrimination within the meaning of the Human Rights Act;
"gender-based violence" means violence based on gender norms and unequal power dynamics, perpetrated against a person based on the person's gender, gender expression, gender identity or perceived gender, which can take many forms including physical, economic, sexual, emotional or psychological abuse;
"harassment" means any action, conduct or comment that can reasonably be expected to cause offence, humiliation or other physical or psychological injury or illness to a person and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes actions, conduct or comments of a sexual nature, including
(a) sexual solicitations or advances;
(b) sexually suggestive remarks, jokes or gestures;
(c) circulating or sharing inappropriate images;
(d) unwanted physical contact;
(e) any action, conduct or comment that might reasonably be perceived as placing a condition of a sexual nature on employment, an opportunity for training or a promotion; and
(f) a reprisal or threat of reprisal for rejecting a sexual solicitation or advance;
"Minister" means the member of the Executive Council assigned responsibility for the administration of this Act;
"non-disclosure agreement" means a provision in writing in a settlement agreement, however described, between a relevant person and
(b) the person who committed or who is alleged to have committed the violence, harassment or discrimination,
that restricts the disclosure of information about an allegation or incident of violence, harassment or discrimination, and includes a non-disparagement agreement if the non-disparagement agreement has the effect or purpose of concealing details relating to an allegation or incident of violence, harassment or discrimination;
"party responsible" means a person who has an obligation in law to take reasonable steps to prevent violence, harassment and discrimination in the place where violence, harassment or discrimination occurred or is alleged to have occurred;
"relevant person" means a person who has experienced or made allegations about violence, harassment or discrimination;
"settlement agreement" means an agreement between two or more parties that disposes of one or more issues in dispute between the parties in relation to allegations of violence, harassment or discrimination, and includes an employment contract or a severance agreement that does so;
"violence" means any form of violence, coercion, coercive control, harassment or discrimination that is unlawful under an enactment of the Province, an Act of the Parliament of Canada or an enactment of the Government of Canada, and includes gender-based violence and intimate-partner violence.
4 The Minister is responsible for the supervision and management of this Act and the regulations.
5 This Act applies to non-disclosure agreements made before, on or after the coming into force of this Act.
6 Subject to Section 7, no party responsible or person who committed or who is alleged to have committed violence, harassment or discrimination may enter into a non-disclosure agreement with a relevant person if
(a) the relevant person has experienced or made allegations of violence, harassment or discrimination; and
(b) the non-disclosure agreement has the effect or purpose of concealing details relating to an allegation or incident of violence, harassment or discrimination.
7 (1) A party responsible or person who committed or who is alleged to have committed violence, harassment or discrimination may enter into a non-disclosure agreement with a relevant person in accordance with this Section if such an agreement is the expressed wish and preference of the relevant person concerned.
(2) A non-disclosure agreement under subsection (1) is only enforceable if
(a) the relevant person has had a reasonable opportunity to receive independent legal advice;
(b) there have been no undue attempts to influence the relevant person in respect of the decision to include a requirement not to disclose any material information;
(c) the agreement does not adversely affect
(d) the agreement includes an opportunity for the relevant person to decide to waive the relevant person's own confidentiality in the future and the process for doing so; and
(e) the agreement is of a set and limited duration.
(3) A non-disclosure agreement must, to the extent that is possible, be written in plain language and specifically identified using the subject or title of "Non-Disclosure Agreement".
(4) A non-disclosure agreement that does not comply with subsections (1) to (3) is void and unenforceable.
8 A party responsible may not enter into a separate non-disclosure agreement with the person who committed or who is alleged to have committed the violence, harassment or discrimination for the purpose of preventing a lawful investigation into a complaint of violence, harassment or discrimination.
9 A non-disclosure agreement that is void and unenforceable is severable from the other provisions of a settlement agreement, and the invalidity of the non-disclosure agreement does not affect the remainder of the settlement agreement.
10 A non-disclosure agreement does not apply to
(a) any disclosure of information protected or required under the Human Rights Act or the Occupational Health and Safety Act or protected or required under another enactment of the Province, an Act of the Parliament of Canada or an enactment of the Government of Canada;
(b) artistic expression by the relevant person that does not identify
- (i) the party responsible or the person who committed or who is alleged to have committed the violence, harassment or discrimination, or
(c) any communication relating to the violence, harassment or discrimination between the relevant person and
- (i) a person whose duties include the enforcement of an enactment of the Province, an Act of the Parliament of Canada or an enactment of the Government of Canada with respect to a matter within the person's power to investigate,
(ii) a person authorized to practise law in the Province,
(iii) a duly qualified medical practitioner,
(v) a registered nurse or nurse practitioner,
(vii) a person who provides victim services under the Victims' Rights and Services Act,
(viii) a community elder, spiritual counsellor or counsellor who is providing culturally specific services to the relevant person,
(ix) the Office of the Ombudsman,
(x) a friend, family member or personal supporter as specified or approved in the non-disclosure agreement, or
(xi) a person or class of persons prescribed by the regulations.
11 (1) No provision in a non-disclosure agreement or settlement agreement may prevent, restrict or discourage any person from
(a) filing a complaint with the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, participating in an investigation or proceeding under the Human Rights Act or disclosing information relevant to such a complaint;
(b) exercising any rights or fulfilling any duties under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, including reporting a hazard, injury or incident of violence, harassment or discrimination in the workplace to an employer, a joint health and safety committee, the Occupational Health and Safety Division or other relevant authority; or
(c) co-operating with any investigation or inquiry conducted under the Human Rights Act or the Occupational Health and Safety Act, or by any public authority responsible for enforcing human rights or workplace safety,
and any provision of a non-disclosure agreement or settlement agreement that purports to do so is void and unenforceable to the extent of the inconsistency.
(2) No provision in a non-disclosure agreement may infringe on a relevant person's constitutional rights under paragraph 2(b) and section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
12 (1) Any settlement agreement must comply with the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Criminal Code (Canada).
(2) No settlement agreement affects any person's right to report any matter to a police force or to ask for an investigation under the Criminal Code (Canada).
(3) No settlement agreement affects any person's right to make a protected disclosure under the Public Interest Disclosure of Wrongdoing Act or the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act (Canada).
13 No person may sue, threaten or demand repayment from a relevant person because the relevant person refused to enter into a non-disclosure agreement.
14 No Government department or agency, office of the House of Assembly, Provincially owned Crown corporation or publicly funded university or college may
(a) enter into a non-disclosure agreement unless the relevant person, after having had the opportunity to obtain independent legal advice that includes advice on alternative means to protect the confidentiality of the relevant person's personal information, makes a specific and voluntary written request for a non-disclosure agreement before the agreement is entered into; or
(b) litigate non-disclosure agreements against relevant persons.
15 (1) Nothing in this Act prevents relevant persons from protecting their own confidentiality and identity through victim-protective confidentiality clauses in settlement agreements.
(2) A person presenting a settlement agreement to a relevant person shall offer the inclusion of a victim-protective confidentiality clause in the settlement agreement.
16 Nothing in this Act prevents the inclusion or enforcement of a provision in a settlement agreement that precludes disclosure of the amount paid under the settlement agreement.
17 A party responsible or person who committed or who is alleged to have committed violence, harassment or discrimination that, after the coming into force of this Act, enters into a non-disclosure agreement is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than $5,000 and not more than $50,000.
18 (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations
(a) prescribing persons or classes of persons for whom a non-disclosure agreement may not prohibit communication related to violence, harassment or discrimination;
(b) defining any word or expression used but not defined in this Act;
(c) respecting any matter or thing that the Governor in Council considers necessary or advisable to carry out effectively 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.
19 This Act comes into force six months following Royal Assent or on such earlier day as the Governor in Council orders and declares by proclamation.
This page and its contents published by the Office of the Legislative Counsel, Nova Scotia House of Assembly, and © 2026 Crown in right of Nova Scotia. Created March 3, 2026. Send comments to legc.office@novascotia.ca.
