Minimum Wage Order (Logging and Forest Operations) - Labour Standards Code (Nova Scotia)

This consolidation is unofficial and is for reference only. For the official version of the regulations, consult the original documents on file with the Office of the Registrar of Regulations, or refer to the Royal Gazette Part II.

Regulations are amended frequently. Please check the list of Regulations by Act to see if there are any recent amendments to these regulations filed with our office that are not yet included in this consolidation.

Although every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this electronic version, the Office of the Registrar of Regulations assumes no responsibility for any discrepancies that may have resulted from reformatting.

Minimum Wage Order (Logging and Forest Operations)

made under Sections 50 and 52 of the

Labour Standards Code

R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 246

O.I.C. 1999-56 (effective October 1, 1999), N.S. Reg. 5/1999

amended to O.I.C. 2023-26 (effective March 6, 2023), N.S. Reg. 29/2023

Table of Contents

Please note: this table of contents is provided for convenience of reference and does not form part of the regulations.
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Citation

Definitions

Application

Employer’s responsibility

Minimum wage

Notice of adjustments

Minimum rates for board and lodging

Method of payment

Minimum wage not maximum rate

Citation

1 These regulations may be cited as the Minimum Wage Order (Logging and Forest Operations).

Definitions

2 (1) In this Order

“annual Consumer Price Index” means the “all-items”, annual, Consumer Price Index for Canada published by Statistics Canada under the Statistics Act (Canada);

“forest operation” includes

(i) construction and maintenance of a road, where necessary to provide

access to a logging operation or a camp or a loading or driving facility,

(ii) forest improvement work including thinning, drainage and irrigation of

the soil,

(iii) reforestation,

(iv) forest fire protection,

(v) catering, contracting or sub-contracting operations in the forest in

connection with a logging operation,

(vi) operation of a portable mill or temporary establishment in the forest where wood is rough sawed as a part of a logging operation.

“logging operation” includes all operations in or incidental to

(i) the carrying on of logging, including the logging or cutting of cordwood, mining-props, pile poles, pulpwood or tie cutting, and

(ii) hauling, driving, fluming, rafting, or booming of logs, mining props, piles, poles, pulpwood or ties;

“other workers” means employees who are subject to this Order and have no fixed work week or whose hours are unverifiable, including camp, gate and dam guardians, cooks and kitchen employees, stable hands, watch employees, and fire rangers and wardens;

“projected annual Consumer Price Index” means the estimate of the annual Consumer Price Index for a given year calculated by adding the Consumer Price Index values for the months of January through November in the year preceding the year for which the estimate is to be determined and dividing the sum by 11;

“time workers” means employees who are subject to this Order and who are not “other workers”.

(2) Words defined in the Labour Standards Code and the regulations made under the Labour Standards Code have the same meaning when used in this Order.

Application

3 This Order applies within the Province of Nova Scotia to all employees and to their employers engaged in logging or forest operations excepting

(a) employees transporting wood already removed from the forest;

(b) employees of a farmer carrying on logging or forest operations with not more than 2 employees on a woodlot owned by the farmer;

(d) persons employed outside the forest in mills or establishments wherein the wood is worked or processed;

(e) forest fire fighters employed under the provisions of the Forests Act;

(f) employees whose remuneration is based on board feet or cords or other method of measurement of wood in conformity with a written agreement between themselves and their employers.

Employer’s responsibility

4 No employer shall employ an employee at a rate of wages less than the minimum wage fixed by this Order or otherwise violate or fail to observe any provisions of this Order.

Minimum wage

5 (1) [repealed]

(2) [repealed]

(3) The minimum wage for employees under this Order is fixed at the rate set out in the following table:

Effective Date	Class of Employees	Rate
October 1, 2022	Time Workers	$13.60 per hour
October 1, 2022	Other Workers	$2673.76 per month
April 1, 2023	Time Workers	$14.50 per hour
April 1, 2023	Other Workers	$2850.70 per month
October 1, 2023	Time Workers	$15.00 per hour
October 1, 2023	Other Workers	$2949.00 per month

(4) Effective on and after April 1, 2024, the minimum wages for employees to whom this Order applies are calculated as follows:

(a) for time workers, the hourly wage rate is fixed at the minimum hourly wage rate in effect on April 1, 2023, adjusted by the percentage change in the projected annual Consumer Price Index for 2023, plus an additional 1%, and rounded to the nearest $0.05;

(b) for other workers, the monthly wage rate is fixed at the rate that is proportionate to the hourly wage rate for time workers calculated under clause (a), and rounded to the nearest $0.05.

(5) Effective on and after every April 1 beginning in 2025, the minimum wages for employees to whom this Order applies are calculated as follows:

(a) for time workers, the current hourly rate is adjusted by the percentage change in the projected annual Consumer Price Index for the calendar year immediately preceding the year in which the adjustment occurs, plus an additional 1%, and rounded to the nearest $0.05;

(b) for other workers, the current monthly wage rate is adjusted so that it is proportionate to the hourly wage rate for time workers calculated under clause (a), and rounded to the nearest $0.05.

(6) If the calculation required by subsection (4) or (5) results in a wage rate that is less than the current rate, there is no adjustment and the minimum wage remains fixed at the current rate.

Notice of adjustments

5A (1) The Minister shall give public notice of any adjustments to the minimum wage as calculated under subsection 5(4) or 5(5) by publishing a notice in the Royal Gazette Part I no later than January 31 of the year in which the adjustment is to take effect.

(2) No later than April 1, every employer of employees affected by this Order shall post and keep posted in a conspicuous place in the employer’s establishment or plant a copy of any public notice given by the Minister under subsection (1) so that all employees affected thereby may have ready access to and see the same.

Minimum rates for board and lodging

6 (1) If an employer furnishes board and lodging to an employee, the employer shall not deduct from the minimum wage of the employee an amount exceeding the amount set out in the following table:

Effective Date	Board and Lodging
October 1, 2010	$10.25 per day
October 1, 2011	$10.80 per day

(2) No employer shall charge an employee for board and lodging that the employee does not receive.

Method of payment

7 Wages shall be paid promptly at regular intervals in accordance with the practice of the employment and in any case not less frequently than semi-monthly.

Minimum wage not maximum rate

8 The rates hereby fixed are minimum rates and are in no way to be construed as maximum rates.

9 [repealed]

Legislative History
Reference Tables

Minimum Wage Order (Logging and Forest Operations)	N.S. Reg. 5/1999
Labour Standards Code
Note: The information in these tables does not form part of the regulations and is compiled by the Office of the Registrar of Regulations for reference only.

Source Law

The current consolidation of the Minimum Wage Order (Logging and Forest Operations) made under the Labour Standards Code includes all of the following regulations:

N.S. Regulation	In force date*	How in force	Royal Gazette Part II Issue
5/1999	Oct 1, 1999	date specified	Mar 12, 1999
78/2002	Oct 1, 2002	date specified	Jun 28, 2002
90/2003	Oct 1, 2003	date specified	May 2, 2003
111/2005	May 27, 2005	date specified	Jun 10, 2005
58/2007	May 1, 2007	date specified	Mar 2, 2007
124/2008	May 1, 2008	date specified	Apr 11, 2008
259/2011	Sep 5, 2011	date specified (10 days after publication in the Royal Gazette)	Aug 26, 2011
16/2016	Jan 19, 2016	date specified	Feb 5, 2016
4/2019	Jan 28, 2019	date specified	Jan 18, 2019
14/2020	Apr 1, 2020	date specified	Feb 14, 2020
21/2022	Oct 1, 2022	date specified	Feb 25, 2022
29/2023	Mar 6, 2023	date specified	Feb 24, 2023

The following regulations are not yet in force and are not included in the current consolidation:

N.S. Regulation	In force date*	How in force	Royal Gazette Part II Issue

*See subsection 3(6) of the Regulations Act for rules about in force dates of regulations.

Amendments by Provision

ad. = added am. = amended	fc. = fee change ra. = reassigned		rep. = repealed rs. = repealed and substituted
Provision affected		How affected
2 .......................................................		ra. as 2(1) 259/2011
2(1)...................................................		ra. from 2 259/2011; am. 259/2011 (clause lettering removed)
2(1), defn. of “Consumer Price Index”.......................................		ad. 259/2011; am. 16/2016
2(1), defn. of “Low Income (Before Tax) Cut-Off”.............		ad. 259/2011; rep. 16/2016
2(1), defn. of “other workers”.....		ad. 259/2011
2(1), defn. of “projected annual Consumer Price Index”............		ad. 16/2016
2(1), defn. of “time workers”......		ad. 259/2011
2(2)...................................................		ad. 259/2011
5........................................................		rs. 78/2002, 259/2011
5(1)..............................................		rs. 90/2003, 111/2005, 58/2007, 124/2008; rep. 16/2016
5(2)..............................................		rep. 16/2016; ad. 14/2020¹; rep. 21/2022
5(3)..............................................		am. 16/2016; rs. 4/2019; am. 14/2020²; rs. 21/2022; am. 29/2023
5(3)(a).........................................		rs. 14/2020
5(3A) ..........................................		ad. 4/2019; am. 21/2022; rep. 29/2023
5(3A)(a)......................................		am. 21/2022
5(4) .............................................		am. 4/2019; rs. 29/2023
5(5)-(6)........................................		ad. 29/2023
5A.....................................................		ad. 259/2011
5A(1)...........................................		am. 16/2016, 4/2019, 14/2020, 21/2022, 29/2023³
6(1)...................................................		rs. 78/2002, 90/2003, 124/2008, 259/2011
9........................................................		rep. 4/2019

Note that changes to headings are not included in the above table.

Editorial Notes and Corrections:

	Note	Effective date
1	The amendment to s. 5 by N.S. Reg. 14/2020 contains instructions to add s. 5(2), but does not specify where to insert it. The amendment has been applied by inserting s. 5(2) immediately after s. 5(1) for the purposes of this consolidation.
2	The amendment to s. 5(3)(a) by N.S. Reg. 14/2020 contains instructions to replace s. 5(3)(a), but includes text for subsection (3) as well. The amendment has been applied to both ss. 5(3) and 5(3)(a) for the purposes of this consolidation.
3	The amendment to s. 5A by N.S. Reg. 29/2023 contains instructions to strike out “subsection 5(3A)” and substitute “subsection 5(4) or 5(5)”, but does not specify whether this should be done in subsection (1) or (2) of the provision. The amendment has been applied to subsection (1) for the purposes of this consolidation.	Mar 6, 2023

Repealed and Superseded:

N.S. Regulation	Title	In force date	Repealed date
103/1991	Minimum Wage Order (Logging and Forestry Operations) (sets minimum wage effective January 1, 1989)	Oct 1, 1991	Jan 1, 1993
239/1992	Minimum Wage Order (Logging and Forestry Operations)	Jan 1, 1993	Oct 1, 1996
89/1996	Minimum Wage Order (Logging and Forestry Operations)	Oct 1, 1996	Oct 1, 1999

Note: Only regulations that are specifically repealed and replaced and for which consolidated versions exist appear in this table. It may not reflect the entire history of regulations on this subject matter.