First

Session, 49th General Assembly

Elizabeth II, 2020

BILL 52

AN ACT RESPECTING

TOURIST ACCOMMODATIONS

Received

and Read the First Time ................................................................

Second

Reading ............................................................................................

Committee .....................................................................................................

Third

Reading ...............................................................................................

Royal

Assent .................................................................................................

HONOURABLE BERNARD

DAVIS

Minister of Tourism,

Culture, Arts and Recreation

Ordered to be printed by

the Honourable House of Assembly

EXPLANATORY NOTES

This Bill would enact the Tourist Accommodations Act and repeal

the Tourist Establishments Act .

This Bill would amend the law

respecting tourist accommodations.

A BILL

AN ACT RESPECTING TOURIST ACCOMMODATIONS

Analysis

Short title

Definitions

Registration required

Records and reports

Sharing of information

Inspectors

Powers of inspectors

Contravention of Act suspected

Telewarrant

Protection from liability

Regulations

Fees and forms

Offence and penalty

SNL2006 cC-17.1 Amdt.

CNLR 1156/96 Amdt.

RSNL1990 cT-6 Rep.

Commencement

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and

House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

Short title

1. This

Act may be cited as the Tourist

Accommodations Act.

Definitions

2. In

this Act

(a) "accommodation" means

(

i) a building, part of a building or group of

buildings containing one or more units and includes cabins, cottages and other

permanent structures,

(ii) land maintained as grounds for tents, trailers,

recreational vehicles or other temporary or seasonal structures,

(iii) a boat, or

(iv) any other real or personal property prescribed

in the regulations;

(b) "minister" means the minister

appointed under the Executive Council Act

to administer this Act;

(c) "operator" means the owner or lessee

of a tourist accommodation or other person in charge of the tourist

accommodation;

(d) "primary residence" means a dwelling

unit owned or rented by an individual, either alone or jointly with others, in

which the individual is ordinarily resident;

(e) "short term rental" means the

provision of an accommodation for compensation to an individual or group of

individuals for overnight lodging for a period of 30 days or less; and

(f) "tourist accommodation" means an

accommodation that is offered for short term rental to the traveling or

vacationing public.

Registration

required

(1) A person shall not operate a tourist accommodation unless the tourist

accommodation is registered in accordance with the regulations.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), a person is

not required to register a primary residence that is only offered as a tourist

accommodation while the owner or lessor is residing in the primary residence.

(3) A registration under subsection (1) may be

cancelled in accordance with the regulations.

Records and

reports

4. An

operator shall

(

a) maintain records of all rentals of tourist

accommodations in accordance with the regulations; and

(

b) prepare and submit reports to the minister in

accordance with the regulations.

Sharing of

information

5. The

minister may share information obtained in the administration of this Act in

accordance with the regulations.

Inspectors

(1) The

minister may designate persons or classes of persons to act as inspectors for

the purpose of this Act and the regulations.

(2) The minister may designate persons or classes

of persons from another department of government under subsection (1), with the

approval of the minister of that other department.

(3) A person shall not knowingly make a false or

misleading statement, either orally or in writing, to an inspector while he or

she is exercising powers or carrying out duties or functions under this Act or

the regulations.

Powers of

inspectors

(1) An

inspector may, at all reasonable times, for purposes related to the

administration or enforcement of this Act or the regulations, inspect or

examine the premises, processes, books and records of a person that the

inspector may consider relevant for the purpose of determining compliance with

this Act or the regulations, and the inspector may, without a warrant,

(

a) enter any premises where

(

i) any property, books or records are or may be

kept, or

(ii) anything is done or is suspected by the

inspector of being done in connection with a requirement of this Act or the

regulations;

(

b) make copies, extracts, photographs or videos

the inspector considers necessary;

(

c) require the owner or person in charge of a

premises to give the inspector all reasonable assistance, including the

production of books and records as requested by the inspector, and to answer

all proper questions relating to the administration or enforcement of this Act

or the regulations and, for that purpose, require the owner or person in charge

to attend at the premises with the inspector; and

(

d) require the owner or person in charge to make

available the means to generate and manipulate books and records that are in

machine readable or electronic form and any other means or information

necessary for the inspector to assess the books and records.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), an inspector

shall not enter a dwelling-house without the consent of the occupant except

under the authority of a warrant issued under

section 8 or 9.

Contravention of

Act suspected

(1) Where

during the course of an inspection under

section 7 or otherwise an inspector believes

on reasonable grounds that there has been a contravention of this Act or the

regulations, the inspector may, with a warrant issued under subsection (2) or

section 9, seize and take away any of the books or records that may be required

as evidence of a contravention and may retain those documents until the time

they are required in a court proceeding.

(2) A Provincial Court judge who is satisfied upon

oath or affirmation there are reasonable grounds for believing there is in or

on a premises anything that may provide evidence with respect to a suspected

offence under this Act or the regulations, may issue a warrant authorizing an

inspector to enter the premises and to

(

a) search;

(

b) examine the contents of the premises and make

those inquiries that the inspector considers necessary; and

(

c) copy, extract, photograph, video, seize and

take away evidence, books and records,

for the purpose of investigating the

suspected offence.

(3) The owner or person in charge of a premises

referred to in this

section or a person present at the premises shall not

obstruct an inspector in the carrying out of the inspector's duties under this

section as authorized by the warrant.

Telewarrant

(1) Where,

in the opinion of an inspector it would not be practical to appear before a

Provincial Court judge to apply for a warrant, the inspector may make the

application by telephone or other means of telecommunication.

(2) Where an inspector acts under the authority of

a warrant obtained under this section, the inspector shall provide a facsimile

of the warrant to the owner or person in charge of a premises present at the

time the warrant is carried out.

(3) In subsection (2), "facsimile"

includes a record produced by electronic means or a written record of a

telephone conversation made by both parties to the conversation while it is in

progress and which the parties have confirmed as to its accuracy by reading

their record of the conversation to one another at the end of the conversation.

Protection from

liability

10. The

minister or an inspector, shall not be liable for anything done in good faith

in the exercise or performance of a power, duty or function conferred or

imposed on him or her under this Act.

Regulations

11. The

minister may make regulations

(

a) prescribing real or personal property for the

purpose of subparagraph 2(a)(iv);

(

b) respecting the registration of tourist

accommodations;

(

c) respecting the cancellation of a registration

of a tourist accommodation;

(

d) respecting the maintenance of records for the

purpose of paragraph 4(a);

(

e) respecting the preparation and submission of reports

for the purpose of paragraph 4(b);

(

f) respecting the sharing of information obtained

in the administration of this Act;

(

g) defining a word or expression used but not

defined in this Act; and

(

h) generally to give effect to the purpose of

this Act.

Fees and forms

12. The

minister may set fees and establish forms for the purpose and administration of

this Act and the regulations.

Offence and

penalty

13. A

person who contravenes this Act or the regulations made under this Act is

guilty of an offence and liable on

summary conviction to a fine of not less

than $250 and not more than $2,000.

SNL2006 cC-17.1

Amdt.

14. Paragraph 28(1)(

a) of the City of St. John's Municipal Taxation Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

(

a) required to be registered under the Tourist Accommodations Act ;

CNLR 1156/96

Amdt.

15. (1) Subsection 64(1) of the Wild Life Regulations is repealed and

the following substituted :

Sale of game

(1) The

minister may, by issue of a wild meat service licence, authorize the owner or

operator of a tourist accommodation registered under the Tourist Accommodations Act or a person licensed under the Food and Drug Act (Canada) to purchase

from the holder of a permit to sell, during the open season and 7 days after

that, big game legally taken, and to serve that game to customers.

(2) Subsection 76(1) of the Wild Life Regulations is repealed and the following substituted:

Sale of small

game

(1) The minister may, by issue of a wild meat

service licence, authorize the owner or operator of any tourist accommodation registered

under the Tourist Accommodations Act

or any person licensed under the Food and

Drug Act (Canada) to purchase from the holder of a permit to sell during

the open season and 7 days after that small game legally taken, except

migratory birds, and to serve that game to customers.

(3) Subsection 77(1) of the Wild Life Regulations is repealed and the following substituted :

Traffic in

ptarmigan

(1) Subject to sections 76 and 87, a person shall

not sell or purchase, or offer to sell or purchase, or expose for sale any

ptarmigan and an owner or occupier of a restaurant, boarding house, roadhouse,

tavern, lunch counter or tourist accommodation as defined by the Tourist Accommodations Act shall not

serve ptarmigan or cause or permit ptarmigan to be served.

(4) Paragraph 111.1(1)(

d) of the Wild Life Regulations is repealed and

the following substituted:

(d) "outfitter" means the owner or

operator of a camp site, lodge, cabin and related facilities constructed solely

for the purpose of and used solely as a base for outfitting operations for

sports fishing or hunting and related commercial recreational activities that

is registered under the Tourist

Accommodations Act; and

(5) Subsection 111.1(8) of the Wild Life Regulations is repealed and

the following substituted:

(8) Notwithstanding

subsection (5), north of 52 north latitude, a non-resident who is a paying

guest of a tourist accommodation registered under the Tourist Accommodations Act may angle for fish in inland waters

provided that he or she

(

a) returns to that tourist accommodation each

night;

(

b) utilizes

the services of a licensed guide; and

(

c) does

not fish within 2 kilometres, or a distance which the minister may establish,

of an existing licensed outfitter camp site, lodge, cabin and related

facilities.

RSNL1990 cT-6

Rep.

16. The Tourist

Establishments Act is repealed.

Commencement

17. This Act comes into force on a day to be

proclaimed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.

Queen's Printer