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Part II .

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Blaster Trade Regulations

made under

Section 17A of the

Apprenticeship and Trades Qualifications Act

S.N.S. 2003, c. 1

N.S. Reg. 205/2016 (effective April 1, 2017)

amended to N.S. Reg. 145/2022 (effective July 6, 2022)

Table of Contents

Please note: this table of contents is provided for convenience of reference and does not form part of the regulations.

Click here to go to the text of the regulations .

Citation

Definitions

Classes of certification in blaster trade

Terms of apprenticeship for blaster trade

Wage schedules for apprentices in blaster trade

Blaster certificate through trade qualification

Blaster certificate term and renewal

Compliance with identity card requirements of General Regulations

Transition

Citation

1 These trade regulations may be cited as the Blaster Trade Regulations.

Definitions

(1) In these regulations,

“Act” means the Apprenticeship and Trades Qualifications Act ;

“blaster apprentice” means a person who has entered into an apprenticeship

agreement with an employer in the blaster trade;

“blaster journeyperson” means a person who holds a certificate of qualification in

the blaster trade;

“blaster trade” means the occupation of a blaster, consisting of conducting and

supervising blasting activity as defined in the Blasting Safety Regulations ;

“ Blasting Safety Regulations ” means the Blasting Safety Regulations made under

the Occupational Health and Safety Act ;

“former blasting regulations” means the General Blasting Regulations , N.S. Reg.

77/1990, made under the Occupational Health and Safety Act ;

“General Regulations” means the Apprenticeship and Trades Qualifications Act

General Regulations made under the Act.

(2) A term defined in the General Regulations has the same meaning when used in

these regulations.

(3) A term defined in the Blasting Safety Regulations has the same meaning when

used in these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires.

Classes of certification in blaster trade

(1) The following are the classes of certification in the blaster trade:

(

a) Blaster (3rd Class);

(

b) Blaster (2nd Class);

(

c) Blaster (1st Class).

(2) A person who holds a blaster certificate is authorized to conduct and supervise

blasting activity specified in the Blasting Safety Regulations for the class of blaster

certificate held.

Terms of apprenticeship for blaster trade

(1) The term of apprenticeship for a Blaster (3rd Class) consists of all of the following:

(

a) a single level consisting of 900 documented hours of the combination of

practical experience and the portion of technical training spent learning the

skills of the designated trade as described in clause 26(1A)(

a) of the General

Regulations and as approved by the Director, and including at least 4

supervised blasts;

(

b) related technical training as described in clause 26(1A)(

b) of the General

Regulations and as approved by the Director;

(

c) a certification examination.

(2) The term of apprenticeship for a Blaster (2nd Class) consists of all of the

following:

(

a) a single level consisting of 2250 hours of the combination of practical

experience and the portion of technical training spent learning the skills of

the designated trade as described in clause 26(1A)(

a) of the General

Regulations and as approved by the Director, 1350 hours of which must be

obtained after obtaining a Blaster (3rd Class) certificate, and including at

least 12 supervised blasts, 8 of which must be performed after obtaining a

Blaster (3rd Class) certificate;

(

b) related technical training as described in clause 26(1A)(

b) of the General

Regulations and as approved by the Director;

(

c) a certification examination.

(3) The term of apprenticeship for a Blaster (1st Class) consists of all of the following:

(

a) a single level consisting of 3600 hours of the combination of practical

experience and the portion of technical training spent learning the skills of

the designated trade as described in clause 26(1A)(

a) of the General

Regulations and as approved by the Director, 1350 hours of which must be

obtained after obtaining a Blaster (2nd Class) certificate, and including at

least 12 supervised blasts within 50 m of a structure that is normally

occupied in whole or in part by people, such as a house, residence, shop,

church or school;

(

b) related technical training as described in clause 26(1A)(

b) of the General

Regulations and as approved by the Director;

(

c) a certification examination.

(4) Any probationary period included in a term of apprenticeship for the blaster trade

as permitted by subsection 12(2) of the General Regulations must be no longer

than 3 months.

5 [repealed]

Wage schedules for apprentices in blaster trade

(1) Subject to subsection (2), the minimum wage rate for each hour worked by a

blaster trade apprentice in their term of apprenticeship is a percentage of the wage

for a blaster journeyperson in the same place of employment, as set out in the

following table:

Wages for Blaster Apprentice

Class of Certification

Hours in Term of

Apprenticeship

(term consists of single level)

Minimum Wage

(% of journeyperson’s wage)

Blaster (3rd Class)

60% of Blaster (1st Class)

Blaster (2nd Class)

70% of Blaster (1st Class)

Blaster (1st Class)

80% of Blaster (1st Class)

(2) An employer must not employ a blaster apprentice at a wage for actual hours

worked that is lower than the wage that would be paid at the minimum wage rate

prescribed in the Minimum Wage Order (General) made under the Labour

Standards Code .

Blaster certificate through trade qualification

(1) The requirements of paragraph 30(1)(a)(ii)(

A) and clause 30(1)(

b) of the General

Regulations for a person who does not hold a certificate of apprenticeship and is

applying for a certificate of qualification in the blaster trade must be met as set out

in the following table:

Class of

Certification

Hours of Practical

Experience Required

(General Regulations,

paragraph 30(1)(a)(ii)(A))

Tasks Required to

Demonstrate Competency

(General Regulations, clause 30(1)(b))

Blaster (3rd Class)

1350 hours

at least 4 blasts

Blaster (2nd

Class)

3375 hours

at least 12 blasts

Blaster (1st Class)

5400 hours

at least 24 blasts, 12 of which

must be within 50 m of a

structure that is normally

occupied in whole or in part by

people, such as a house,

residence, shop, church or

school

(2) The practical experience referred to in the table in subsection (1) must be as

approved by the Director.

Blaster certificate term and renewal

(1) A certificate of qualification in the blaster trade is valid for 5 years from the date it

is issued and may be renewed.

(2) A certificate of qualification in the blaster trade that is renewed in accordance with

subsection 35B(2) of the General Regulations is valid for a further term of 5 years

from its most recent expiry date.

(3) An applicant for renewal of a certificate of qualification in the blaster trade must,

in addition to paying the prescribed fee within the specified time in accordance

with subsection 35B(2) of the General Regulations, complete to the Director’s

satisfaction any training or examination, or combination of training and

examination, relevant to the blaster trade that the Director requires.

Compliance with identity card requirements of General Regulations

9 For the purposes of

Section 34 of the General Regulations, which requires an apprentice

or journeyperson to keep their identity card in their possession when practising the

designated trade and produce it on request, a person is practising the blaster trade while

the person is doing any of the following:

(

a) for an apprentice,

(

i) acquiring practical experience in the trade, or

(ii) learning the skills of the trade during the technical training portion of

apprenticeship training;

(

b) for a journeyperson, performing the duties of the trade as defined in these

regulations or their duties as set out in the General Regulations.

Transition

10 A person who, immediately before the coming into force of these regulations, was an

apprentice in an apprenticeship program under the Blaster Trade Regulations , N.S. Reg.

90/2008, continues as an apprentice in that program under these regulations.

Legislative History

Reference Tables

Blaster Trade Regulations

N.S. Reg. 205/2016

Apprenticeship and Trade Qualifications 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 Blaster Trade Regulations made under the Apprenticeship and Trade Qualifications Act includes all of the following regulations:

N.S.

Regulation

In force

date*

How in force

Royal Gazette

Part II Issue

205/2016

Apr 1, 2017

date specified

Oct 28, 2016

145/2022

Jul 6,

date filed

Jul

15, 2022

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

5 ........................................................

rep. 145/2022

Note that changes to headings are not

included in the above table.

Editorial Notes and Corrections:

Note

Effective

date

Repealed and Superseded:

N.S.

Regulation

Title

In force

date

Repealed

date

90/2008

Blaster

Trade Regulations

Apr 1,

Apr 1,

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.