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Part II .

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Fish Harvester Organizations Support Regulations

made under

Section 19 of the

Fish Harvester Organizations Support Act

S.N.S. 2011, c. 36

N.S. Reg. 187/2013 (February 27, 2013, effective April 1, 2013)

as amended to N.S. Reg. 302/2015 (July 29, 2015)

Citation

1 These regulations may be cited as the Fish Harvester Organizations Support Regulations .

Definitions

(1) In these regulations,

“Act” means the Fish Harvester Organizations Support Act ;

“annual dues” means the annual dues required by subsection 8(2) of the Act to be

paid by a licence holder in a region represented by an accredited organization;

“member”, in relation to an organization, means a licence holder who is a member of

the organization, unless the context otherwise requires;

“vote” means a vote conducted under subsection 7(3) of the Act among licence

holders in a region with respect to representation of the licence holders by an

accredited organization;

“controlling agreement” means an agreement between a licence holder and another

person, corporation or other entity that permits a person, other than the licence

holder, to control or influence a decision by the licence holder to submit a request to

the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (Canada) for the issuance of a replacement

licence to another fish harvester;

Definition added: N.S. Reg. 302/2015.

“key vessel based license [licence]” means

(

I) in Region 1, a licence to fish for snow crab, lobster, groundfish (other

than handline), scallop, bluefin tuna, or herring; and

(ii) in Regions 2 through 6, a licence to fish for herring purse seine, snow

crab, lobster, groundfish (other than handline), scallop, bluefin tuna,

herring, swordfish (longline), or shrimp trawl.

Definition added: N.S. Reg. 302/2015.

Section 2 redesignated as subsection 2(1) for the purposes of this consolidation to accommodate text added as

2(

b) by N.S. Reg. 302/2015.

(2) In the Act and these regulations,

“customarily return from fishing to a place” means to return to the home port

registered with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (Canada) and identified as

such on the licence holder’s key vessel based licences;

“recognized as a core or an independent core fisher” means a person who

(

i) holds one or more key vessel based licences issued by the Department of

Fisheries and Oceans (Canada),

(ii) is designated as either core or independent core on those licences;

(iii) in the case of a core fisher, held at least one of those licences, at the time

of its issuance, subject to a controlling agreement, and

(iv) in the case of an independent core fisher, held none of those licences, at

the time of their issuance, subject to a controlling agreement.

Duplicate subclause (iii) in the definition of “recognized as a core or an independent core fisher” redesignated

as (iv) for the purposes of this consolidation.

Subsection added as 2(

b) by N.S. Reg. 302/2015 redesignated as 2(2) for the purposes of this

consolidation.

Regions

(1) In this Section, “Lobster Fishing Area” means a Lobster Fishing Area as illustrated

and enumerated in the Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985 under the Fisheries Act

(Canada);

(2) The Province is divided into 6 regions, described as follows and as shown on the

map attached as

Schedule A:

(

a) Region 1, Gulf Nova Scotia: the coast from the Gulf-Nova Scotia-New

Brunswick border to the Inverness-Victoria county line;

(

b) Region 2, Cape Breton Atlantic: the coast from the Inverness-Victoria county

line to the Canso Causeway;

(

c) Region 3, Eastern Shore: the coast from the Canso Causeway to the mouth of

the Sackville River in Halifax Harbour;

(

d) Region 4, South Shore: the coast from the mouth of the Sackville River in

Halifax Harbour to the boundary between Lobster Fishing Areas 33 and 34;

(

e) Region 5, Southwest: the coast from the boundary between Lobster Fishing

Areas 33 and 34 to the boundary between Lobster Fishing Areas 34 and 35;

(

f) Region 6, Fundy: the coast from the boundary between Lobster Fishing Areas

34 and 35 to the New Brunswick border.

Appointment and functions of Registrar

(1) A Registrar must be an employee of the Government of Nova Scotia or, if appointed

to represent a particular region, any other person whom the Minister considers

appropriate.

(2) A Registrar, at the direction of the Minister, must perform all of the following duties:

(

a) receive registration information and annual dues payable by licence holders

under subsection 14(1) of the Act;

(

b) disburse registration information and annual dues received from each licence

holder to the accredited organization identified by the licence holder or, if no

organization is identified, as directed by the Minister under clause 14(3)(

c) of

the Act;

(

c) maintain a registry of licence holders and the accredited organizations to which

they belong;

(

d) provide the Minister with details of any outstanding annual dues that are owed;

(

e) any additional duties assigned by the Minister.

Threshold of required eligible votes

5 For the licence holders in a region to be represented by an accredited organization, the

threshold of required eligible votes is 51% in favour, with at least 50% of the licence

holders in the region having cast valid ballots.

Eligibility to vote

(1) A licence holder is eligible to vote in the region to which the licence holder

customarily returns from fishing.

(2) The Department must compile a list of eligible voters for each region and make the

list available so that licence holders in the region have sufficient time to review the

list before a vote is conducted.

(3) A licence holder whose name is not on the list of eligible voters may apply in writing

to the Minister to have their name added to the list.

Conducting vote

(1) Voting must be conducted at the time determined by the Minister.

(2) The Department must send a notice outlining the voting process to each licence

holder whose name is on the list of eligible voters for the region.

(3) Voting may be conducted by ballot box, registered mail, telephone, or any other

method allowing for maximum participation, as determined by the Minister.

(4) Once a vote is held, no further vote may be conducted in the same region for a

period of at least 24 months.

(5) The Minister may appoint a person to observe the voting process and to report to the

Minister on it.

Public notice and invitation following affirmative vote

(1) The public notice required by subsection 8(3) of the Act following an affirmative

vote must be published

(

a) at least once in each of 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper having general

circulation in areas in which, in the opinion of the Minister, the notice is likely

to come to the attention of licence holders in the region; and

(

b) in 1 issue of the Royal Gazette

Part I.

(2) The invitation to organizations to apply for accreditation required by subsection 8(3)

of the Act must be in the form of a letter signed by the Minister.

Deadline for payment of annual dues

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) for the first annual dues payable, annual dues

must be paid to a Registrar on or before September 1 in each year.

(2) The first annual dues that are payable in a region following an affirmative vote must

be either prorated or waived, at the Minister’s discretion, as follows:

(

a) prorated on the basis of the period of time between the date the vote was

conducted in the region and August 31 in the same year; or

(

b) waived so that the first annual dues are payable by September 1 of the

following year.

Exempted licence holders

(1) A licence holder who demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Minister that no

existing accredited organization adequately represents the licence holder’s interests is

exempt from the requirement to pay annual dues.

(2) A licence holder may request an exemption by applying in writing to the Minister.

Applying for designation as accredited organization

11 To be designated as an accredited organization for a region following an affirmative vote

in the region, an organization must

(

a) meet the accreditation criteria set out in

Section 12 and, if applicable,

Section

13; and

(

b) apply to the Minister in the manner set out in

Section 14 within the following

applicable time period:

(

i) for an organization that existed at the time the voting was conducted, no

later than 90 days after the date the results of the vote are published,

(ii) for an organization that did not yet exist at the time the voting was

conducted, at any time following the date the results of the vote are

published.

Accreditation criteria

12 For the purposes of subsection 9(1) of the Act, all of the following are prescribed as the

criteria to be met by an accredited organization:

(

a) the primary purpose of the organization is to represent its members;

(

b) each member is required to pay at least $100 in annual dues;

(

c) the organization maintains a duly elected executive composed of

(

i) a president,

(ii) a vice-president,

(iii) a secretary and a treasurer, or a secretary-treasurer, and

(iv) a board of directors;

(

d) the organization has established and maintains a regular reporting mechanism

and can demonstrate that the reporting mechanism is being actively used to

communicate with and receive input from the organization’s members;

(

e) the organization has made all required filings and registrations with the

Registry of Joint Stock Companies either as a society under the Societies Act or

as a limited company incorporated under the Companies Act and is in good

standing with the Registry of Joint Stock Companies;

(

f) unless designated on a special sector basis as set out in

Section 13, the

organization has, in each region represented by the organization, a

membership of at least 100 licence holders or 15% of the licence holders in the

region, whichever is the lesser number.

Clause 12(

f) amended: N.S. Reg. 26/2014.

Accreditation criteria for designation on special sector basis

(1) An organization that meets all of the accreditation criteria prescribed in

Section 12

except for the minimum membership criteria in clause 12(

f) may apply for

designation as an accredited organization on a special sector basis.

(2) To be designated as an accredited organization on a special sector basis, an

organization must demonstrate to the Minister’s satisfaction that it represents a

unique industry sector by meeting at least 1 of the following criteria:

(

a) the organization has been recognized by the Department of Fisheries and

Oceans (Canada) or the Province as representing a unique industry sector;

(

b) the members of the organization are geographically isolated;

(

c) the organization represents only members in the region who fish for a specific

species or use a specific type of fishing gear and has a membership of 25

licence holders or 80% of the licence holders in the region, whichever is the

lesser number;

(

d) the membership is unique and separate from general multi-species enterprises

and other sectors of the fishery;

(

e) if the organization represents members who fish for a specific species, each

member holds a licence for that species;

(

f) if the organization represents members who use a specific type of fishing gear,

each member uses that type of fishing gear;

(

g) the membership cannot be effectively represented by any other accredited

organization.

Designation application form and fee

(1) An application for designation as an accredited organization must be in writing and

must include all of the following information about the organization:

(

a) its name and address;

(

b) a statement of its purpose;

(

c) the names and addresses of its executive officers;

(

d) the reporting mechanism established and maintained as required by clause

12(d);

(

e) proof that the organization has made all required filings and registrations with

the Registry of Joint Stock Companies either as a society under the Societies

Act or as a limited company incorporated under the Companies Act and is in

good standing with the Registry of Joint Stock Companies;

(

f) a statement of the amount of the annual dues that it charges;

(

g) a list of the names and civic addresses of all of its members.

(2) An application must be accompanied by a non-refundable fee of $206.00.

Subsection 14(2) amended: N.S. Reg. 177/2015.

Maintaining designation as accredited organization

15 To maintain its designation as an accredited organization, an organization must submit all

of the following to the Minister in writing on or before December 1 in each year:

(

a) a current list of its members;

(

b) a list of its current executive and board members;

(

c) proof demonstrating active communication and opportunity for input as

required by clause 12(d);

(

d) proof that the organization has made all required filings and registrations with

the Registry of Joint Stock Companies and is in good standing with the

Registry of Joint Stock Companies.

Organization accreditation fee

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) for the first annual accreditation fee payable by

the organization, an accredited organization must pay to the Minister an annual

accreditation fee of $20.60 per member, or $1030.00, whichever is less, on or before

December 1.

Subsection 16(1) amended: N.S. Reg. 177/2015.

(2) The first annual accreditation fee payable by an accredited organization on becoming

designated must be either prorated or waived, at the Minister’s discretion, as follows:

(

a) prorated on the basis of the period of time between the date of the designation

and November 30 in the same year; or

(

b) waived so that the first annual fees are payable by December 1 of the following

year.

(3) An accredited organization that is designated in more than 1 region is not required to

pay an accreditation fee for the additional designation.

(4) Once the Minister is satisfied that an organization has complied with all

requirements prescribed by these regulations to obtain or maintain, as applicable, a

designation as an accredited organization and pays the accreditation fee required

under this Section, the Minister shall issue an accreditation certificate to the

organization.

Subsection 16(4) added: N.S. Reg. 302/2015.

Transition

(1) In this Section,

“former Act” means

Chapter 6 of the Acts of 1995-96, the Fisheries Organizations

Support Act ;

“former regulations” means the regulations respecting support for fisheries

organizations, N.S. Reg. 170/96, made by the Governor in Council by Order in

Council 96-860 dated November 19, 1996.

(2) An affirmative vote conducted in a region under the former Act is recognized as a

vote in favour of having the region represented by an accredited organization under

the Act and these regulations.

(3) An organization that on the coming into force of these regulations is an accredited

organization under the former regulations continues as an accredited organization

under the Act and these regulations.

Schedule A