Showing 938 results

The Planning Act Review Committee was established in 1978 to review the Planning Act, consult with municipalities and the public regarding amendments to the act, and make recommendations to the minister. The committee was comprised of twelve members and chaired by Sherman Zwicker. The committee produced a final report in 1981 and a revised Planning Act was passed by the House of Assembly in 1983.

Mines became a separate department in 1939, when Public Works and Mines was broken up and responsibility for public works was transferred to the Department of Highways. The Department of Mines was exclusively responsible for mines and mining, especially in relation to coal. In 1979 the department was restructured as the Department of Mines and Energy, with a view to energy and mineral resources conservation and, especially, petroleum resources development. In 1991 Mines and Energy was merged with Lands and Forests in the new Department of Natural Resources.

The Nova Scotia Dept. of Mines, which once formed part of the Dept. of Public Works, achieved the status of a separate department in 1939 when Public Works was transferred to the Dept. of Highways (3 Geo. VI, c. 56). The specific functions of the Dept. of Mines are prescribed by the Mines Act (R.S.N.S. 1954, Chapter 179), the Coal Mines Regulation Act (R.S.N.S. 1954, Chapter 35), and the Metalliferous Mines regulation Act (R.S.N.S. 1954, Chapter 176).

In 1926 the Commissioner of Crown Lands and the Commissioner of Forests and Game were combined in the Department of Lands and Forests, of which the Attorney General became minister. The department was responsible for managing, leasing, selling or otherwise disposing of crown lands; conserving and protecting all forests and timberlands, whether publicly or privately owned; and protecting, preserving and encouraging the natural increase of game and game fish. The attorney general remained minister of lands and forests until 1947, when the department received its own minister. In 1987 a new Crown Lands Act was passed and department made responsible for the acquisition, registration, survey and sale or disposition of crown lands as well as their administration, utilization, protection and management, including access to and travel on them, habitats for the maintenance and protection of wildlife, harvesting and renewal of timber resources and forest recreation. In 1991 the Departments of Lands and Forests and Mines and Energy merged to form the Department of Natural Resources.

Nova Scotia Minister’s Committee on Occupational Health and Safety was created by Hon. David Nantes, Minister of Labour and Manpower, in November 1983 to review recommendations relating to occupational health and safety contained in the report of the Select Committee of the Legislature on Workers’ Compensation and advise on this forthcoming legislation. Dr. Thomas J. McKeough, a former Minister of Labour, was appointed chairperson with Dannie MacDonald, Rick Clarke, Barry Wark, and Leslie White as co-committee members. The Committee studied safety and health legislation in other jurisdictions, received written submissions (briefs) from stakeholders and the interested public, and held public hearings in Amherst, Yarmouth, New Glasgow, Sydney, and Halifax from December 5, 1983 to January 24, 1984. The Committee’s final report was presented to the Minister in October 1984 and the Committee disbanded.

The Department of Labour was established in 1932 in response to the employment crisis provoked by the Great Depression. It was initially responsible for the Minimum Wage Board, employment services office, and supervisor of unemployment relief. Subsequently it acquired responsibility for occupational health and safety, industrial relations, labour standards, fire prevention and protection, labour research and pay equity. In 1980 the department assumed responsibility for labour market programs and occupational training and its name was changed to Labour and Manpower. In 1985 responsibility for manpower and occupational training was transferred to the Department of Human Resources Development and Training (later Advanced Education and Job Training) and the department resumed the name Department of Labour. In 2000 the department was abolished and its functions transferred to the new Department of Environment and Labour

A "King's Attorney" (Attorney General) was first appointed in 1749 to conduct all Crown prosecutions and provide legal advice to the government. As one the five great officers of state, the Attorney General was usually a member of the governing Council and, after the advent of representative democratic government in 1848, always a member of the Executive Council (Cabinet).

Under the first modern Public Service Act (1900), the Attorney General, the senior law officer of the Crown, became a department of government, fully responsible for the administration of law and justice in all its aspects.

In 1987, responsibility for policing and correctional services was transferred to the new Department of the Solicitor General. In 1990, responsibility for public prosecutions was transferred to an independent Director of Public Prosecutions. In 1993, responsibility for policing and correctional services reverted to the Attorney General and the department was renamed Department of Justice.

The Attorney General, ex officio, is Minister of Justice. The Attorney General as law officer of the Crown is the official legal adviser to, and the legal member of, the Cabinet. As Minister of Justice the Attorney General ensures that the administration of public affairs is in accordance with the law, and has the superintendence of all matters connected with the administration of justice not within the federal jurisdiction. The Attorney General advises other ministers on all matters of law concerning their departments or arising in the administration of acts for which they are responsible. The Attorney General has the settlement and approval of all instruments issued under the Great Seal. The Attorney General has the regulation and conduct of all litigation for or against the Crown or any department in respect of any subject within the authority or jurisdiction of the government. The Attorney General has the functions and powers that belong to the office of the attorney general of England by law or usage as far as applicable. The Attorney General likewise has the functions and powers which, previous to the coming into force of the Constitution Act, 1867, belonged to the Office of Attorney General of Nova Scotia and which, under the provisions of that act, are within the scope of the powers of the Nova Scotia Government, including responsibility for affairs and matters relating to courts and prosecutions. The Attorney General also has such other powers and shall discharge such other duties as are conferred and imposed by any act of the legislature or by order in council made under the authority of an act.

In 1987 the Department of Development was divided into two new departments: Industry, Trade and Technology and Small Business Development. The function of Industry, Trade and Technology was to foster economic growth in Nova Scotia, and serve as a central agency in regard to economic policy and planning. Specifically, it was to administer the government's economic development policies; coordinate its development activities with the development functions of other departments; collect and conduct analysis of economic and social data and conduct studies relating to the economic and social development of the province; liaise with federal government departments concerned with economic development; liaise with private industry and with private-sector associations and organizations concerned with economic development; and promote trade and commerce both within and outside the province. In 1992 Industry, Trade and Technology merged with Small Business Development to form the Department of Economic Development.

The Nova Scotia Department of Inclusive Economic Growth, which superseded the Department of Business in March 2021, primarily focused on providing opportunities to grow the provinces economy through various programs and grant funding streams. These were available to both new or existing organizations or business in Nova Scotia that met the criteria of encouraging innovation, expansion or entrepreneurship. The name change was meant to be reflective of the changes in the province following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and the goal that inclusive economic growth should be “defined as an economy that creates opportunities for all segments of the population and that distributes the dividends of increased prosperity both in monetary and non-monetary terms for the well-being of all Nova Scotians”. The department was also responsible for the Invest Nova Scotia Board Act and the Peggy’s Cove Commission Act; leading an intergovernmental initiative to facilitate regulatory coordination on major projects in Nova Scotia; and managing legacy commitments assigned to it for oversight following the dissolution of the Department of Economic and Rural Development and Tourism in 2015. The Minister of Inclusive Economic Growth was assigned responsibility for the following Crown corporations: Develop Nova Scotia, Innovacorp, Nova Scotia Business Inc., Tourism Nova Scotia and for the administration of the province’s responsibilities in the Halifax Convention Centre Corporation (Events East Group). The department changed names in 2022, and became the Department of Economic Development

The Department of Municipal Affairs was established in 1935 to provide for provincial government oversight of the management of municipal finances and to regulate municipal borrowing. Until 1946 the Attorney General was the minister of municipal affairs. Over the years the main objects of the department were to provide municipal governments with advice and assistance; administer the various financial assistance programs available to municipalities, as well as acts and regulations affecting municipalities; develop policies and programs meeting municipal infrastructure needs; and foster and maintain good provincial-municipal relations. In 1976 the department assumed responsibility for real property assessment. In 1996 the Department of Housing and Consumer Affairs was dissolved and responsibility for housing transferred to Municipal Affairs, which was then renamed Housing and Municipal Affairs. In 2000 the Departments of Business and Consumer Services and Housing and Municipal Affairs were replaced by Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations.

The Department of Highways was established in 1918 to assume responsibility for highways and bridges, other than construction and maintenance, and to act as liaison between the arm's-length Provincial Highway Board and the Cabinet. In 1926 the board was abolished and the department assumed full responsibility for building and maintaining highways and roads, as well as for supervising, managing and controlling their traffic and general use. From 1926 to 1941 the department was also responsible for tourism. In 1939 the Department of Public Works and Mines was broken up and responsibility for public buildings and government property and equipment transferred to the Department of Highways, which was renamed Department of Highways and Public Works. In 1955 the department relinquished responsibility for public works and resumed the name Department of Highways.

In 1904 the Department of Public Health replaced the Provincial Board of Health. At first under the Provincial Secretary, in 1930 the department acquired its own minister. In 1977 the department was reorganized and renamed Health. In 1987 the Department of Culture, Recreation and Fitness was dissolved, responsibility for fitness assumed by Department of Health and the department renamed Health and Fitness. In 1991 fitness was reassigned to the Sport and Recreation Commission and the name Department of Health restored. The organization and mandate of the department is set out in the Health Act. The department is responsible for all aspects of public health, including health services and insurance, health care institutions, health engineering, commmunity health services, psychiatric mental health and drug dependency rehabilitation.

The Nova Scotia Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture was created in 1997 by the Fisheries and Coastal Resources Act. Prior to 1997, it operated under the Fisheries Act as the Department of Fisheries starting in 1964 with the mandate to protect, conserve, and regulate the fisheries and to encourage development of the commercial fishing industry in Nova Scotia. Before 1964, fisheries were managed by the Fisheries Division of the Department of Trade and Industry. In 1966 the new Department of Fisheries had a Minister, Deputy Minister, and 4 divisions: Fisheries Training; Demonstration and Development; Licensing and Special Projects; and the Fishermen’s Loan Board. The first Minister was Hon. E.D. Haliburton, who was also responsible for the Department of Lands and Forests. The organizational structure changed slightly in 1973 with an Administration Division; Fisheries General Division; Fisheries Training Division; and Resources Development Division. In the late 1970s the Resources Development Division was split into Product Development and Industrial Development Divisions. By 1983 the Fisheries Department also assumed responsibility for aquaculture, sometimes referred to as fish farming.

To fulfill its mandate, they negotiated policies and regulations with their Federal counterparts, built and maintained wharfs and other waterfront infrastructure in communities; issued licenses to operators and inspected fish plants and products for quality; promoted standards for the industry through regulation, training and funding programs; encouraged product development by experimenting with new species, new processing equipment, and new seafood products; and invested in better-designed vessels, and in the emergent aquaculture industry. They also managed the Recreational or Sport Fishery, collected statistics, monitored the economic health of the industry, and supported marketing campaigns to promote Nova Scotia seafood and products in international markets.

In 2000 the Fisheries and Aquaculture Department was merged with Agriculture and Marketing to form the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.

The Department of Fisheries ran its own Financial Incentives cost-shared funding program aimed at small-scale fishing companies and independent fishers across Nova Scotia. In addition, the Department managed several joint federal/provincial funding programs including the Agricultural and Rural Development Act (ARDA) from 1964 to approximately 1976, followed by the Economic Regional Development Agreement (ERDA) 1984 to 1989 and then its replacement, the Canada-Nova Scotia Cooperation Agreement in Fisheries program, which ran from approximately 1991 to 1998.

Members of the NS Legislative Assembly who served as Minister for this Department include Edward D. Haliburton (1964-1968), James M. Harding (1968-1969), John M. Buchanan (1969-1970), Benoit Comeau (1971-1973), and Alexander M. “Sandy” Cameron (1973-1976).

A Provincial Treasurer to superintend public finances was first appointed in 1750. The treasurer was an officer of state and member of the (Executive) Council and afterwards, like the Attorney General and Provincial Secretary, a department of government. In 1849 the office of treasurer was abolished and replaced by Financial Secretary and Receiver General (cashier). In 1867 these offices were abolished and the treasurer restored. From 1878 to 1946 the Provincial Secretary was ex officio Provincial Treasurer. In 1942 the first modern Provincial Finance Act was passed. In 1962 the Department of the Provincial Treasurer assumed responsibility for economic policy development and was renamed Finance and Economics. In 1971 the department shed its responsibility for economics and was renamed Department of Finance.

The Ministerial Advisory Committee on Canadian Regional Publishing was established by Hon. Terry Donahoe, Minister of Education, in the spring 1982. The Advisory Committee’s mandate was to review the extent, level of awareness, and use of Canadian publications in Nova Scotia’s schools and libraries, especially those produced in the Atlantic region. The Department was also interested in how local publishers might respond to provincial needs. The Advisory Committee was composed of 8 members with William McCurdy, former printer, publisher, and President of Canadian Periodical Publishers Association, appointed as chairperson. Kathie Swenson, Senior Educational Advisor for the Department, acted as Secretary. They reviewed the Department of Education’s resource lists, textbook selection criteria and budgets, the operation of the School Book Bureau, and department publications; they gathered information from other provinces and territories for a comparative view; they invited written submissions (briefs) from stakeholders; and they listened to presentations from experts. The final report with 52 recommendations was published by the Department in 1983 and the Committee disbanded.

The Nova Scotia Department of Education Minister’s Commission on Public Education Finance, also known as the Walker Commission, was created on August 1, 1980 by Terence R.B. Donahoe, Minister of Education. George Walker, Superintendent of Schools for Kings County, was appointed chairperson with John Levangie, Director of Finance and Budgeting for the Department of Education, and Daniel Brownlow, Mayor of Dartmouth, as co-commissioners. The Commission’s mandate was to examine matters related to the financial support of public schools in Nova Scotia, in particular how the costs are shared between municipal and provincial levels of government, the existing grant structure, and the role of school boards. They held meetings across Nova Scotia between October 1980 and January 1981. They received over 125 written submissions (briefs) from school boards, municipal councils, organizations, and individuals. The Commission presented their final report to the Minister of Education Terence R.B. Donahoe on March 31, 1981 and then disbanded.

The Finance Branch was responsible for budget preparation, inventory control, distribution of learning materials, coordination of capital projects, grants and audits, facilities planning, and the operation of student loan programs. In addition, it provided leadership and direction with regard to the efficient use of resources. Finance operated as an independent branch until 2001, when it became a division of the newly formed Corporate Services Branch.

The Community College Branch was responsible for the administration of province-wide community colleges, including Nova Scotia Community College, and College L'Acadie. It also provided education and apprenticeship training that placed emphasis on occupation-oriented technical and vocational programs, courses, and services.

Until 1949 the Education Office was under the control of the Council of Public Instruction and presided over by the superintendent of education as secretary to the council. In 1949 the Council of Public Instruction was abolished, a minister of education appointed and the superintendent replaced by a deputy minister. In 1953 the Education Act was revised and consolidated and the modern Department of Education came into existence. From 1985 to 1992 ministerial responsibility for education was divided between the Department of Education and the Department of Advanced Education and Job Training. In 1992 responsibility for post-secondary education and vocational and technical training reverted to the Department of Education. In 1994 the Department of Tourism and Culture was abolished and the Department of Education assumed responsibility for cultural affairs. The department's name was thereupon changed to Education and Culture. In 1996 the Nova Scotia Community College was separated from the department. In 1999 responsibility for cultural affairs and heritage was transferred to the re-created Department of Tourism and Culture, and the name Department of Education restored. In 2008 responsibility for apprenticeship and trades, technical, technological and applied arts training was transferred to the new Department of Labour and Workforce Development. Until 2011, Education was responsible for all matters relating to public schools and teaching, post-secondary education, including financial assistance for students; and the Provincial Library. In January 2011, responsibility for post-secondary education was transferred to the Department of Labour and Advanced Education (formerly Labour and Workforce Development) and for the Provincial Library to Communities, Culture and Heritage (formerly Tourism, Culture and Heritage). In April 2013 the Department was renamed Education and Early Childhood Development. In August 2013 responsibility for early childhood development services (including daycare and early intervention) was transferred from the Department of Community Services.

The Department of Public Welfare was created in 1944 to bring under one minister all matters relating to social welfare, including family and children's services, public charities, old age pensions, mothers' allowances, children's aid societies, juvenile court, and reform schools. This legislation required this minister to also be the Minister of Public Health. Although this provision was changed in 1946 it was not until 1954 that a separate Minister of Public Welfare was appointed. In May 1973 the department was renamed Social Services, and in December 1987, Community Services. The department provides financial assistance to individuals and families whose income is insufficient to meet basic needs, and social services to those requiring assistance because of individual or family problems.

In 1885 the Central Board of Agriculture was abolished and the Department of Agriculture established to replace it. Initially under the control of the Provincial Secretary, in 1926 the Department of Agriculture was merged in the new Department of Natural Resources. In 1930 the Department of Natural Resources was broken up, the Department of Agriculture reinstated and a minister of agriculture appointed. In 1934 the department was renamed Agriculture and Marketing. The first modern Agriculture and Marketing Act, passed in 1939, gave the department responsibility for agricultural organizations; encouraging cattle, horse and poultry breeding, and horticulture, seed-growing and dairying; prevention, control and elimination of plant diseases, insects and pests -- especially the apple maggot; soil improvement; protection of cranberries, foxberries and blueberries; prevention and treatment of contagious diseases among bees; county and district agricultural exhibitions and fairs; agricultural education; grading, packaging, inspection and sale of natural products; distribution and sale of milk; and settlement of farm lands. In 2000 the department merged with the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture to form the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.

Incorporated on May 19, 1891 as The Dental Association of the Province of Nova Scotia, the Nova Scotia Dental Association (NSDA) was established to represent, regulate and promote the dental profession in Nova Scotia. The organization began as an effort to set standards of qualifications, both for the benefit of members and for the patients they serve.

The 1891 Act of Incorporation also established the Provincial Dental Board of Nova Scotia, made up of NSDA members along with others appointed by the Governor-in-Council. They are now two separate organizations, but early records overlap. The NSDA is the professional association with a focus on 'dentists helping dentists', while the Dental Board is concerned with regulating qualifications and licensing.

In 1913 the Nova Scotia Government appointed a Superintendent of Dairying to encourage and to have general supervision of the dairy industry in Nova Scotia. The Nova Scotia Dairy Commission was created in 1939 to assume the role of the Superintendent and also to regulate the industry from a health and safety point of view. For a brief period (1944-1945) to Commission's powers were redirected to the Board of Commissioners of Public Utilities. Increasingly in the 1960s the Commission assumed powers under the Natural Products Marketing Act to regulate the market for milk and milk products by controlling prices, the quantity of production and the entry of new producers into the marketplace. In 2000 an industry led organization, Dairy Farmers of Nova Scotia, assumed much of the Commission’s mandate with the remainder of its mandate slipping back into the Dairy Division of the Department of Agriculture. Dairy Farmers of Nova Scotia in turn grew out of the 1916 creation of the Nova Scotia Dairymen’s Association which later became known as the Milk Producers Association of Nova Scotia.

The Commission and Royal Instructions to Governor Edward Cornwallis in 1749 required that a court of vice-admiralty be set up. The Nova Scotia Court of Vice-Admiralty was established three months after the founding of Halifax. The court had jurisdiction over disputes and offences that took place at sea and heard causes relating to seamen's and masters' wages, pilotage, salvage, collisions, wrecks, abandoned ships, beatings or assault at sea, piracy, letters of marque, naval prize money, security for the safe return of a ship, bottomry and respondentia bonds, contraband, possession, and actions for necessaries supplied and/or repairs affected. The court also heard causes relating to breaches of the Customs Act and the Inland Revenue Act, as well as to breaches of navigation, fisheries, trade, and slave trade abolition laws. In 1891 the court was replaced by the District of Nova Scotia Admiralty Side of the Exchequer Court of Canada.

The Court of Chancery of Nova Scotia was established by authority of the Commission and Royal Instructions to Governor Edward Cornwallis in 1749, which conferred on him a general power to establish courts. The court adjudicated civil causes and matters outside the purview of the Supreme Court. It possessed the general powers of injunction and review in such instances. Unlike the common law courts, it administered justice according to the system of equity and heard appeals from the Court of Probate. The Court of Chancery was often resorted to when the judgement of the Supreme Court in civil actions was perceived to be unjust and subject to an equitable remedy. The Court of Chancery was abolished by provincial statute in 1855 and its jurisdiction transferred to the Supreme Court.