The rights of a person accompanied by a guide dog in Nova Scotia is governed by the Blind Persons’ Rights Act. We offer a summary of the key rights of access below and refer you to the entire Act via the link provided for additional detail.
Summary of the Nova Scotia Blind Persons Rights Act
(a) “blind person” means a person who
(i) is registered as blind with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind,
(ii) having been in receipt of a pension on account of blindness under Chapter 12 of the Acts of 1952, the Blind Persons Allowances Act, or Chapter 23 of the Revised Statutes, 1954, the Blind Persons Allowances Act, is in receipt of a pension under the Old Age Security Act (Canada) and is still blind within the meaning of said Blind Persons Allowances Act and regulations made thereunder, or
(iii) is blind within the meaning of any other Act of the Legislature or any regulations made under any such Act;
(b) “dog guide” means a dog trained as a guide for a blind person and having the qualifications prescribed by the regulations. R.S., c. 40, s. 2.
Discrimination as to public facility
4 (1) No person, directly or indirectly, alone or with another, by himself or by the interposition of another, shall
(a) deny to any person the accommodation, services or facilities available in any place to which the public is customarily admitted; or
(b) discriminate against any person with respect to the accommodation, services or facilities available in any place to which the public is customarily admitted or the charges for the use thereof, for the reason that he is a blind person accompanied by a dog guide.
Discrimination as to occupancy of dwelling unit
(2) No person, directly or indirectly, alone or with another, by himself or by the interposition of another, shall
(a) deny to any person occupancy of any self-contained dwelling unit; or
(b) discriminate against any person with respect to any term or condition of occupancy of any self-contained dwelling unit, for the reason that he is a blind person keeping or customarily accompanied by a dog guide.
No other right created
(3) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to entitle a blind person to require any service, facility or accommodation in respect of a dog guide other than the right to be accompanied by the dog guide. R.S., c. 40, s. 4.
Penalty
8 Every person who violates this Act shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to the penalty provided by the Summary Proceedings Act. R.S., c. 40, s. 8.