News release

Housekeeping Amendments to Motor Vehicle Act, Elections Act, Other Legislation

Justice

Nova Scotians involved in fender-benders soon won't have to notify the police unless damages are more than $2,000, thanks to amendments to the Motor Vehicle Act introduced today, April 30.

The province is amending eight pieces of legislation, including the Motor Vehicle Act, the Elections Act, the House of Assembly Act, and the Body Armour Act.

These housekeeping amendments include:

  • The Motor Vehicle Act will now require drivers to call police if damages from a collision are more than $2,000, rather than $1,000. This was recommended by the Canadian Council of Motor Vehicles Administrators to reflect increasing repair costs.
  • Amendments to that act will also have theft of motor vehicle added to the list of specific offences that trigger a driver's licence to be revoked, and they will clarify that someone can have their licence revoked more than one time
  • Organizations will be banned from buying tickets to an event if part of the ticket price is a political donation. This and other clarifications are included in amendments to the Elections Act
  • Two minor boundary changes, captured in an amendment to the House of Assembly Act, will impact 23 voters in Meat Cove, Inverness Co., and Mineville, HRM, and make it easier to administer elections in those areas
  • Security agents and agencies will join police and corrections officers among those permitted to have and use body armor without a permit, in the Body Armor Act
  • Medical investigators with the Medical Examiner Service will be able to authorize a cremation or removal of a body from the province, bringing Nova Scotia's Fatality Investigations Act in line with legislation in Alberta and Manitoba.
  • A change to the Sea, Army, Air and Navy League Cadets Act will move the day to celebrate these cadets to the first Saturday in October
  • Minor administrative drafting errors will be fixed in the Public Interest Disclosure of Wrongdoing Act
  • References to the Nova Scotia Housing Development Corporation will be changed to Housing Nova Scotia in the Housing Development Corporation Act.

For more information about changes to the Elections Act and the boundary changes noted in the amendment to the House of Assembly Act, visit www.electionsnovascotia.ca .