This consolidation is unofficial and is for reference only.

For the official version of the regulations, consult the original documents on file with the Registry 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 Registry of Regulations assumes no responsibility for any discrepancies that may have resulted from reformatting.

This electronic version is copyright © 2015, Province of Nova Scotia , all rights reserved. It is for your personal use and may not be copied for the purposes of resale in this or any other form.

Section 77 Exemption Regulations

made under

Section 81 of the

Finance Act

S.N.S. 2010, c. 2

O.I.C. 2012-255 (August 7, 2012), N.S. Reg. 154/2012

as amended to O.I.C. 2015-297 (September 8, 2015), N.S. Reg. 320/2015

Citation

1 These regulations may be cited as the

Section 77 Exemption Regulations .

Interpretation

2 In these regulations,

“Act” means the Finance Act ;

“affiliate” has the same meaning as in

Section 2 of the NSBI Regulations;

“capital lease” means a lease of a tangible capital asset as defined in the public sector

accounting standards established by the Public Sector Accounting Board of the

Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants;

“environment” means the components of the earth, and includes all of the following:

(

i) air, land and water,

(ii) the layers of the atmosphere,

(iii) organic and inorganic matter and living organisms,

(iv) the interacting natural systems that include components referred to in

subclauses (

i) to (iii);

“financial assistance” includes assistance by way of loan, loan guarantee, the

purchase or guarantee of any bonds, debentures, notes or other debt obligations, and

the purchase or other acquisition of any common or preference shares or other equity

securities;

“indemnity” means a binding obligation by which a member of the Government

Reporting Entity agrees to pay any pecuniary damage suffered by the indemnitee as a

result of loss or damage arising from some responsibility assumed by that member,

but does not include:

(

i) an indemnity concerning pollution or contamination of the environment,

(ii) an indemnity concerning the quality or condition of land or title to land;

“non-monetary transaction” means a net debt obligation in which property other than

money is exchanged for consideration substantially other than money;

“NSBI Regulations” means the Business Development Incentive[s] Regulations

made under the Nova Scotia Business Incorporated Act ;

Definition of “NSBI Regulations” amended: O.I.C. 2015-297, N.S. Reg. 320/2015.

“Nova Scotia Fund” has the same meaning as in the Nova Scotia Business

Incorporated Act ;

“operating lease” means a lease of a non-financial asset, other than a capital lease;

“tangible capital asset” has the same meaning as in the public sector accounting

standards established by the Public Sector Accounting Board of the Canadian

Institute of Chartered Accountants;

“TCA threshold” means the appropriate cost threshold for a tangible capital asset, as

set out in the Budgeting and Financial Management Manual 200 published by the

Treasury Board Office, as amended.

Exempt net debt obligations

3 The following net debt obligations are exempt from

Section 77 of the Act:

(

a) an agreement to acquire a tangible capital asset, if the acquisition has been

approved by Treasury Board and remains within the dollar limit authorized by

Treasury Board, except for an agreement

(

i) that is a capital lease, or

(ii) to acquire a tangible capital asset through a non-monetary transaction;

(

b) an indemnity to which either of the following applies:

(

i) the indemnity is provided by a member of the Government Reporting

Entity to the federal government, an agency of the federal government or

a body acting on behalf of the federal government in relation to a grant of

funds to the Province;

(ii) the minister responsible is of the opinion that the indemnity is being

incurred in the ordinary course of business and does not represent a new

or increased level of risk for the Government Reporting Entity;

(

c) a net debt obligation, other than financial assistance described in clause (d),

that creates a total financial liability, including financial liability related to any

amendment, supplement or extension of or any obligation directly or indirectly

related to the net debt obligation, that does not exceed, in aggregate,

$100 000.00;

(

d) financial assistance, and any amendment, variation or alteration of any terms

and conditions governing the financial assistance, that is authorized from the

strategic investment funds defined in the NSBI Regulations and that does not

require the consent of the Governor in Council under the NSBI Regulations;

Clause 3(

d) amended: O.I.C. 2015-297, N.S. Reg. 320/2015.

(

e) financial assistance from the Nova Scotia Fund in the form of a guarantee, and

the guarantee, but only if the financial assistance from the Nova Scotia Fund

does not require the consent of the Governor in Council under the NSBI

Regulations;

Clause 3(

e) amended: O.I.C. 2015-297, N.S. Reg. 320/2015.

(

f) despite the definition of indemnity in

Section 2, an environmental indemnity

related to a sale by Harbourside Commercial Park Inc., of land that was

purchased by Harbourside Commercial Park Inc. from Sydney Steel

Corporation, but only if all of the following conditions are met:

(

i) remediation work has been completed on the land to the industrial

standard for Harbourside Commercial Park,

(ii) in the agreement that contains the indemnity, the purchaser agrees to use

the land in a manner consistent with the remediation work performed on

the land,

(iii) in the agreement that contains the indemnity, the purchaser agrees to the

restrictive covenants that apply to Harbourside Commercial Park,

(iv) the indemnity in favour of the purchaser relates only to contamination

that is not disclosed in the site condition report with respect to the land

provided to the purchaser in connection with the land purchase, and the

indemnity is conditional on subclauses (ii) and (iii);

(

g) an indemnity provided by the Province in respect of the exercise by the

Attorney General and Minister of Justice of the Minister’s powers and duties as

set out in the Public Service Act ;

(

h) an indemnity, undertaking, bond, surety or other form of security that

(

i) is required by a court or the rules of court as a condition of obtaining a

remedy or other relief in intended or existing litigation for or against the

Crown or any public department, and

(ii) in the opinion of the Attorney General, is reasonably necessary to protect,

preserve or promote the interests of the Crown or any public department

in the intended or existing proceeding;

(

i) economic development incentives from the Invest Nova Scotia Fund made

under the Invest Nova Scotia Board Act .

Clause 3(

i) added: O.I.C. 2015-297, N.S. Reg. 320/2015.

Anti-avoidance

4 For the purpose of determining total financial liability in clause 3(c), a series of related

transactions must be aggregated.

Reporting

(1) A member of the Government Reporting Entity that exercises an exemption set out

in clause 3(

b) or 3(

c) must report annually to the Minister for each fiscal year, in

form and substance satisfactory to the Minister, a

summary of all instances in which

the exemption has been exercised.

(2) For each fiscal year, the report referred to in subsection (1) must be submitted by

April 30 of the immediately following fiscal year.