A new bill from the Progressive Conservatives would ban private companies from collecting Social Insurance Numbers, let victims of intimate partner violence remove abusers from a lease, along with several other changes.
But the ban on SIN collection does not apply retroactively, so businesses who already hold them will not have to delete them, according to Colton LeBlanc, who spoke as the acting Minister of Service Nova Scotia, during a press conference on Tuesday morning.
He said no business is immune to bad actors trying to steal data.
“If I was an entity, a private entity, I’d certainly be looking at my collection and retention practices, even without this legislation in place,” said LeBlanc.
The PCs tabled the bill, called the Protecting Nova Scotians Act, on the first day of the fall sitting at province house on Tuesday. it will go through several readings before officially becoming law.
The changes to SIN number collection come after a major data breach at Nova Scotia Power. Hackers gained access to private information stored by the utility, and all current and former customers could have had that data taken, including their SIN numbers, according to the utility.
A government spokesperson said SIN collection will be banned for private companies unless they are authorized by the regulations.
Some commercial purposes will be allowed, like landlords collecting SIN numbers. Businesses will still be able to collect SIN numbers for legitimate purposes, like reporting tax information, according to the spokesperson. The government will determine the specifics ins and outs of those regulations in time for the act to be proclaimed and take effect in early 2026.
Both the NDP and the Liberals said data protection would be one of their priorities ahead of the legislative session.
Official opposition leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday morning that they will also push to allow free credit freezes, and if someone’s money was stolen after a data breach, they want to let them recover those funds.
“We’re taking action to make sure corporations aren’t keeping your private information for no reason, and we’re giving people more protection under the law if their data is stolen,” said Chender.
Rental protection for victims of intimate partner violence
The bill contained several significant changes from multiple government departments.
Another of the key highlights is rental protections for tenants who are victims of intimate partner violence.
The new change would allow those tenants to cut their abuser off the lease once the abuser has left. That way, the tenant can enter a new lease with the landlord on the same terms as the previous lease.
The NDP called for those protections during the spring legislative session. At the time, they said survivors were often afraid to remove their abusers from the lease because they could be evicted or face other retaliation.
Protests on crown lands
Another change in the bill would give the province more power to clear obstructions away from logging roads on Crown Lands. That could be camps, protests, or other barriers.
A government spokesperson said sometimes seasonal dwellings, like camps, go up by a lake and might cut off access to the water for anyone who wants to visit.
Instead of the 60 days’ notice required before they can remove that camp, the new bill would let the province clear the camp off the land without notice.
But it also gives the province the power to clear protesters, for instance.
According to multiple reports, a group of Mi’kmaq protesters is blocking traffic to and from Hunter’s Mountain over frustrations with logging on their territory.
Port Hawkesbury Paper has stopped cutting trees in the area as a response.
Premier Tim Houston and Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton said on Tuesday that the company did not ask them to create this legislation.
Rushton said the intention of the legislation was not to give the government power to stop protests.
“This has been an ongoing conversation for a while now. This is about the safety of Nova Scotians that utilize our Crown land. It’s about the visitors in Nova Scotia who utilize our Crown land and the safety of our conservation officers,” said Rushton.
He would not say whether the act would be used to shut down the protest.
Liquor Control Act
The bill would also allow the province to create rules around bouncers and businesses with liquor licenses. Those specific rules will be revealed when the act is proclaimed, with a date set for June 2026.
