Mandatory Masks in Indoor Public Places

Premier Stephen McNeil and Dr. Robert Strang, chief medical officer of health in Nova Scotia, announced that masks will become mandatory in most indoor public places, starting July 31st.

Upcoming Licensing Renewals

The upcoming licence renewal period will open on August 10th and close on September 30th. Renewal emails will be sent on August 10th for licensees to renew online. Failure to renew your licence before the September 30th deadline will result in licence termination.

In April, the Board of Directors extended the 2019-2020 licensing cycle from June 30th to September 30th due to the downturn in market conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Board met today to discuss licensing for first-time salespeople who licence between July 1st and September 30th of this year. As a result of the pandemic and the inability to hold exams, first-time salespeople experienced delays in becoming licensed. Individuals licensing for the first time between July and September in a normal year, would fall under the start of the new licensing cycle, not the end of an extended licensing cycle. 

Office Reopening June 29

The Commission office will reopen for regular business hours on Monday, June 29, with the exception of July 3, 10 and 24, when the office will be closed to hold licensing exams.

Public and licensee access will be by appointment only. Anyone with COVID-19 symptoms must not come to the office until they have tested negative for COVID-19 or are symptom free for 10 days. If the office is exposed to COVID-19, the office will need to close for deep cleaning and the staff who were present will have to self isolate for 14 days. Currently, anyone who has travelled outside of the province must not come to the office until they have self isolated in Nova Scotia for 14 days.

On July 3, the Atlantic bubble will come into effect and self isolation will no longer be required for travel between the Atlantic provinces. We have reached out the provincial government to ask what this means for individuals who travel here from other Atlantic provinces between now and July 3 and will update the industry when we receive a response.

Reminder: Licence Renewals Deferred

On April 16th, the Board of Directors deferred licence renewals for 2020 from May-June to August-September. The deferral was in response to market conditions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The board felt it would be best to defer renewals to give time for the market to recover and allow licensees to return to more stable financial footing. This change was enacted under the new state-of-emergency Bylaw 238(b), which was also passed at the April 16th meeting.

Bylaw 238(b) provides the Commission with the overriding authority to extend or vary time limits for carrying out of any requirements of the Bylaw, such as postponing the annual general meeting, extending renewal deadlines, and the manner by which those requirements are fulfilled.