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.

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Pre-retirement Leave Plan for Employees of Thorburn Mining Limited and Independent Coal Operators in Nova Scotia Regulations

made under

Section 1 of

An Act to

Confer Certain Powers upon the Lieutenant Governor-in-Council and to Amend the Mines Act,

S.N.S. 1918, c. 16

O.I.C. 91-1113 (effective July 1, 1991), N.S. Reg. 210/1991

amended to O.I.C. 93-16 (effective March 15, 1992), N.S. Reg. 6/1993

Objective

1 The Pre-retirement Leave Plan is designed to alleviate the hardships of employees who

are forced to leave the coal mine work force due to closure or to lay-offs as a result of cut-

backs in production. The plan was implemented with the recognition that most older

miners experience difficulties in obtaining alternative employment.

2 In these regulations

(a) “Company” means the following companies which are or were involved in

mining or reclamation of coal in the Province of Nova Scotia:

(

i) Bras d’Or Coal Company Limited,

(ii) Springhill Coal Mines Limited,

(iii) Thorburn Mining Limited (McBean Colliery),

(iv) Thorburn Mining Limited (Coal Reclamation Project),

(

v) River Hebert Coal Company Limited,

(vi) Pioneer Coal Limited (Underground Mine, formerly Drummond Coal

Company Limited, only),

(vii) Evans Coal Mines Limited;

(b) “dependent” shall have the same meaning as found in the Income Tax Act;

(c) “eligible employee” means an employee who has applied for participation in

the Pre-retirement Leave Plan and who is not less than fifty-five years of age,

or may mean an employee who has applied for participation in the Pre-retirement Leave Plan because of a medical disability and who is deemed not

to be adequately provided for by some other program, but does not include an

employee who is currently employed in a coal mine or an industry directly

related thereto, or an employee who is sixty-five years of age or older, or an

employee who is in receipt of benefits under the Old Age Security Act;

(d) “employee” means

(

i) a person who was in the employ and on the active or inactive payroll of

the company as of September 1, 1969, and whose name appears on the

master list filed with the Department of Mines and Energy, or

(ii) a person who has not less than ten years service with the company,

subsequent to September 1, 1969,

but does not include officers, directors or shareholders of the company or their

immediate families, truck or equipment owners or their employees engaged by

the company on other than a full time basis;

(iii) in respect of Evans Coal Mines Limited, the following persons:

NameSINDate of birth

Ernest MacDonaldxxx-xxx-xxxxxxx xx, 19xx

James Timmonsxxx-xxx-xxxxxxx xx, 19xx

George Deveauxxxx-xxx-xxxxxxx xx, 19xx

Donald MacDonnellxxx-xxx-xxxxxxx xx, 19xx

Allan Newtonxxx-xxx-xxxxxxx xx, 19xx

Paul Poirierxxx-xxx-xxxxxxx xx, 19xx,

who are persons who meet the qualifications in (

i) and (ii) above and

who were fifty years of age or older as of March 31, 1987, and except for

medical disability as hereinafter defined, these are the only persons in the

employ of Evans Coal Mines who may become “eligible employees” as

defined under (

c) above;

(e) “income” shall have the same meaning as is found in the Income Tax Act,

except that Family Allowance payments shall be excluded from income, but

income shall include payments received under Workers’ Compensation,

disability income and unemployment insurance benefits;

(f) “medical disability” means a non-compensable disability occurring in the mine,

as defined by the Mineral Resources Act, or sickness, which in the opinion of

the Minister causes the employee to be unsuitable for employment in any

capacity, not necessarily restricted to being unsuitable for employment in a

mining operation;

(g) “Minister” means the Minister responsible for Mines and Energy;

(h) “pensioner” means [an] eligible employee who has applied for participation in

and is receiving benefits from the Pre-retirement Leave Plan;

(i) “Plan” means Pre-retirement Leave Plan, and

(j) “union” means any recognized bargaining agent for employees of the company.

3 An eligible employee may apply in the prescribed form to the Minister for benefits under

the Plan.

4 No benefits shall be paid to an employee who

(

a) has celebrated his sixty-fifth birthday;

(

b) receives benefits under the Old Age Security Act, or

(

c) quits his employment and draws his time, except where the company is

planning technological change, or cut-backs, or closure is pending, and the

employee, with the approval of the company, quits to accept alternative

employment or retires.

5 Except as otherwise stated herein, benefits are paid only to an eligible employee who is

laid off from work by company management due to lack of work, or reduction in the work

force due to over production, or cut-backs due to the inability of the mine to provide a

sufficient number of working places.

(1) Benefits shall be payable to a pensioner for the month immediately following the

month in which he attains the age of fifty-five, or his application is received,

whichever is later, except for medical disability, which may be payable for the month

in which the application is received, or such later date as deemed appropriate, subject

to prior approval by the Minister as herein provided.

(2) Benefits shall cease at the end of the month in which a pensioner attains age 65, or

the month in which he dies, whichever first occurs.

7 The Minister may require that an employee applying for benefits due to medical disability

obtain a medical examination from a physician of the employee’s choice, and that the

doctor’s narrative report of examination findings be submitted in a form acceptable to the

Minister, and the Minister may further require that the employee undergo a medical

examination and tests as recommended by a qualified medical practitioner appointed by

the Minister.

8 The Minister may appoint a board of three duly qualified medical practitioners and may

refer to this board for its recommendation any application for participation in the Plan by

an employee who claims that he cannot obtain employment because of a medical

disability.

9 The Plan shall provide monthly benefits to eligible employees according to the following

schedule:

Annual Income Before Pre-retirement Leave Benefits

LevelMinimumMaximum

4900010 499

510 50011 999

612 00013 499

713 50014 999

815 00016 499

916 50017 999

1018 000up

Monthly Pre-retirement Leave Benefits

LevelWith DependentsWithout Dependents

10 Notwithstanding the foregoing, where a cost of living indexing of other income changes an

eligible employee’s level of annual income, the Minister may rule that for purposes of

benefits payable hereunder, the level of other income has remained unchanged.

11 Employees applying for and pensioners receiving benefits under the Plan shall report

income, and such other relevant information as may be requested, to the Minister in a

manner acceptable to him.

12 A pensioner who fails to report his income and such other relevant information as has been

requested, or who reports a misrepresentation of the facts, may have all benefits which

might otherwise accrue to him under the Plan cancelled, and, if such failure to report, or

the reporting of incorrect information, has led to the payment of benefits in excess of those

to which the pensioner was entitled, all benefits so received are, with or without demand,

immediately repayable to the Province of Nova Scotia, together with interest at the long

term Canadian borrowing rate of the Province of Nova Scotia in effect at the time.

13 A pensioner shall immediately, and without request, provide a written report to the

Minister advising him of any changes in income that effect the level of pension benefits to

which the pensioner is entitled.

14 There shall be deducted from payments made under the Plan amounts sufficient to comply

with the laws of Canada respecting deductions under the Income Tax Act.

15 The Plan may be terminated at any time by the Minister with the approval of the Governor

in Council providing the Minister is of the opinion that the Plan is no longer required to

meet the needs for which it was established.

16 Entry to the Plan by eligible employees

(

i) ceased for medical disability on March 31, 1990;

(ii) ceased on March 31, 1982 for former employees of Bras d’Or Coal

Company Limited, Springhill Coal Mines Limited, Thorburn Mining

Limited (McBean Colliery);

(iii) ceased on April 28, 1985 for former employees of River Hebert Coal

Company Limited, being five years after April 28, 1980 closure -

reference Department of Mines and Energy Annual Report December 31,

1980;

(iv) ceased on October 31, 1987 for former employees of Thorburn Mining

Limited (Coal Wastedumps Reclamation Project), being five years after

October 31, 1982 closure - reference Department of Mines and Energy

Annual Report March 31, 1983;

(

v) ceased on December 31, 1989 for former employees of Pioneer Coal

Limited who were previously employees of Drummond Coal Company

Limited, being five years after December 31, 1984 closure of the former

Drummond Coal Company Limited underground coal mine operations;

(vi) ceases on March 31, 1992 for the former employees of Evans Coal

Mines Limited, being five years after March 31, 1987, which is the date

that technological change is deemed to be implemented.

17 This Plan applies to all eligible employees or pensioners presently receiving benefits

pursuant to Order in Council 84-1044 as amended by Orders in Council 87-168, 87-428,

88-890, 88-1020, 89-1185 and 90-1457.

(1) Where a pensioner is eligible for and receives benefits from the Plan for only part of

a calendar year, the Minister may accept other income, for the same portion of the

year, as a corresponding percent of annual income for the purpose of determining a

pensioner’s benefit level.

(2) Where a pensioner has received lower benefits than those for which he is entitled

based on his other actual income received during the period in respect of which he

was entitled and received benefits under the Plan, he may be granted benefits which

do not exceed the amount of the deficiency if a request duly signed by the pensioner

is received by the Minister not later than thirty days after calendar year-end and if

such request is supported by income details verifying the deficiency in a manner that

is satisfactory to the Minister.

(1) Payments under the Plan shall be by cheques mailed to the last known addresses of

pensioners no later that the last day of the month for which benefits apply.

(2) In the event of interruption of postal service, the Minister will make reasonable effort

for alternative distribution of payments within Nova Scotia in advance of, or as soon

after the normal mailing day as is practical.

20 Except as otherwise noted in these regulations, these regulations shall be effective on and

from the 1st day of July, 1991.

21 Despite clause (

i) of

Section 16, Mr. Victor Paul Desveaux of Cheticamp, Nova Scotia,

Date of Birth - xxxx xx, 19xx, S.I.N. xxx-xxx-xxx, shall be eligible for entry to the Plan

on the basis of medical disability, as defined therein, as of the 15th day of March, 1992,

being the date of his application for medical benefits.

Section 21 shall be effective on, from and after the 15th day of March, 1992.

Legislative History

Reference Tables

Pre-retirement Leave Plan for Employees of Thorburn

Mining Limited and Independent Coal Operators in Nova Scotia Regulations

N.S. Reg.

210/1991

Mines Act

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 Pre-retirement Leave Plan for Employees of Thorburn Mining

Limited and Independent Coal Operators in Nova Scotia Regulations made

under the Mines Act includes all of the following

regulations:

N.S.

Regulation

In force

date*

How in force

Royal Gazette

Part II Issue

210/1991

Jul 1, 1991

date specified

Oct 18, 1991

6/1993

Mar 15, 1992

date specified

Feb 5, 1993

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

21-22

ad. 6/1993

Note that changes to headings are not

included in the above table.

Editorial Notes and Corrections:

Note

Effective

date

References in clauses 2(

d) and (

g) to the Department of

Mines and Energy and Minister responsible for Mines and Energy should be read

as references to the Department of Natural Resource and Minister of Natural

Resources in accordance with Order in Council 1991-971 under the Public Service Act , R.S.N.S. 1989, c.

Sep 16, 1991 (predates

regulations)

References in clauses 2(

d) and (

g) to the Department of

Mines and Energy and Minister responsible for Mines and Energy should be read

as references to the Department of Energy and Minister of Energy in

accordance with Order in Council 2002-286 under the Public Service Act , R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 376.

Jun 17, 2002

References in clauses 2(

d) and (

g) to the Department of

Mines and Energy and Minister responsible for Mines and Energy should be read

as references to the Department of Energy and Mines and Minister of Energy

and Mines in accordance with Order in Council 2018-188 under the Public Service Act , R.S.N.S. 1989, c.

Jul 5, 2018

References in clauses 2(

d) and (

g) to the Department of

Mines and Energy and Minister responsible for Mines and Energy should be read

as references to the Department of Natural

Resources and Renewables and Minister of Natural Resources and Renewables in accordance with O.I.C.

2021-210 under the Public Service Act ,

R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 376.

Aug 31, 2021

Repealed and Superseded:

N.S.

Regulation

Title

In force

date

Repealed

date

Note: Only

regulations that are specifically repealed and replaced appear in this

table. It may not reflect the entire

history of regulations on this subject matter.