Summary#
Bill 269 makes several changes related to public safety in Nova Scotia. It would create a province-wide Conservation Officer Service, strengthen protections for the 911 system, expand legal remedies for non-consensual intimate images, and give authorities more tools to address unsafe property use.
The bill would also allow certain organizations linked to terrorism to be dissolved, protect air ambulance flight paths, and extend some community safety orders.
- Conservation officers would have peace officer powers while carrying out their lawful duties. Their work would include enforcing conservation laws and any other laws set by regulation.
- The government could dissolve companies, co-operatives, and societies listed under the Criminal Code as entities connected to terrorist activity.
- The 911 rules would add privacy and cybersecurity requirements, restrict use and disclosure of 911 information, and prohibit false, frivolous, or vexatious 911 calls.
- Victims could seek court orders over threatened distribution of intimate images, including fake images made with artificial intelligence. Consent to distribution could also be revoked.
- Municipal Affairs could create air ambulance protection corridors and set height limits for buildings and other objects near hospital heliports.
- Community safety orders could address human trafficking, gang or criminal organization activity, sexual offences, and stolen goods. Property closures could last up to one year instead of 90 days.
What it means for you#
- Conservation officers: A new provincial service would be created. Officers could enforce specified environmental, wildlife, forestry, fisheries, parks, land, and related laws. They could also carry out public peace duties and would be peace officers while lawfully performing their duties. The exact additional laws they could enforce would be set by regulation.
- People affected by intimate-image abuse: You could apply to court if someone distributes, or threatens to distribute, a personal or fake intimate image without consent. Courts could order the person to stop, provide information that may identify the person making the threat, and take other steps.
- People who previously gave consent: You could revoke consent to distribution at any time. After being told, the person who had distributed the image must make every reasonable effort to make it unavailable to others.
- Families of deceased people: Certain spouses, relatives, close personal contacts, personal representatives, and prescribed people could apply to court on behalf of a deceased person. Courts could use a pseudonym and restrict publication of identifying information.
- People using 911: Making or allowing someone to make a false, frivolous, or vexatious 911 request would be prohibited. Information handled by people working with the 911 system could only be used or disclosed when needed to operate the service.
- Property owners and occupants: A property used for activities such as human trafficking, criminal organization offences, gang activity, sexual offences, or dealing in stolen goods could be subject to a community safety investigation or court order. A court could require the property to close for up to one year.
- Property owners near hospital heliports: New height limits could apply in designated air ambulance protection corridors. Provincial orders would prevail over conflicting municipal planning rules.
- Companies, co-operatives, and societies: The Registrar could immediately dissolve an organization after receiving notice that it is federally listed as an entity connected to terrorist activity. For companies, the bill says the liabilities of directors, officers, and members would continue after dissolution.
- Timing: Most major provisions would start on a date set by the provincial government. The source material does not give a specific date.
Expenses#
The bill may create administrative, enforcement, staffing, training, technology, and court-related costs, but no estimate is provided.
- Government: Costs could arise from creating the Conservation Officer Service, hiring and training officers, managing complaints, and setting up independent investigations of serious incidents.
- 911 service: The province and 911 providers may need to improve information security and cybersecurity systems. No cost estimate is available.
- Intimate-image cases: Courts and victim-support services may handle additional applications involving threatened distributions. Administrative penalties would also require an enforcement system.
- Municipalities: Municipalities may need to post air ambulance corridor orders and may have to adjust planning or development decisions.
- Property owners and businesses: Owners may face costs if they must comply with court orders, close a property, or follow new height restrictions.
- Penalties: Failing to comply with an administrative penalty notice under the intimate-image law could lead to a fine of up to $15,000, imprisonment for up to six months, or both. The bill does not set the amounts of the administrative penalties themselves; regulations would do that.
Proponents' View#
- The bill appears intended to improve public safety by giving conservation officers clearer authority and a common provincial structure.
- Expanding the intimate-image law could help people respond before a harmful image is distributed, including when the image is fabricated using artificial intelligence.
- Allowing consent to be revoked and protecting the privacy of deceased people could provide stronger control over intimate images.
- Stronger 911 privacy and cybersecurity rules could help protect sensitive caller and emergency-service information.
- Air ambulance corridors could be seen as improving the safety of flights to and from hospital heliports.
- Broader community safety tools could help address properties connected to trafficking, organized crime, sexual offences, gangs, or stolen goods.
Opponents' View#
- The bill would give conservation officers broad peace officer powers. Many details about when and how they could use those powers would be left to future regulations or directives.
- It is unclear how the new Conservation Officer Service would be staffed, supervised, funded, and coordinated with police agencies. The bill permits some officers to be appointed outside the regular civil service.
- A possible concern about the intimate-image changes is that respondents would have to prove that the person had no reasonable expectation of privacy, while consent would be presumed absent. The bill does not explain how these rules would work in every type of case.
- The bill allows administrative penalties under the intimate-image law, but leaves their amounts and many procedures to future regulations. This makes the immediate consequences difficult to assess.
- Air ambulance orders could override municipal planning rules, and the bill says property is not considered harmed by such an order. This may raise questions about effects on development and property owners.
- Giving the Public Safety Director power to investigate and seek community safety orders without a complaint could increase government enforcement. The bill does not clearly describe all limits on that discretion.