23. In every case where a dispute is duly referred to a Board it shall be the duty of the Board to endeavour to bring about a settlement of the dispute, and to this end the Board shall, in such manner as it thinks fit, expeditiously and carefully inquire into the dispute and all matters affecting the merits thereof and the right settlement thereof. In the course of such inquiry the Board may make all such suggestions and do all such things as it deems right and proper for inducing the parties to come to a fair and amicable settlement of the dispute, and may adjourn the proceedings for any period the Board thinks reasonable to allow the parties to agree upon terms of settlement.

24. If a settlement of the dispute is arrived at by the parties during the course of its reference to the Board, a memorandum of the settlement shall be drawn up by the Board and signed by the parties, and shall, if the parties so agree, be binding as if made a recommendation by the Board under Section 60 of this Act, and a copy thereof with a report upon the proceedings shall be forwarded to the Minister.

25. If a settlement of the dispute is not arrived at during the course of its reference to the Board, the Board shall make a full report thereon to the Minister, which report shall set forth the various proceedings and steps taken by the Board for the purpose of fully and carefully ascertaining all the facts and circumstances and shall also set forth such facts and circumstances, and its findings therefrom, including the cause of the dispute and the Board's recommendation for the settlement of the dispute according to the merits and substantial justice of the case.

26. The Board's recommendation shall deal with each item of the dispute and shall state in plain terms and avoiding as far as possible all technicalities, what in the Board's opinion ought or ought not to be done by the respective parties concerned. Wherever it appears to the Board expedient so to do, its recommendation shall also state the period during which the proposed settlement should continue in force, and the date from which it should commence.

27. The Board's report and recommendation shall be made to the Minister in writing, and shall be signed by such of the members as concur therein, and shall be transmitted by the chairman by registered letter to the Registrar within thirty days after the reference of the dispute to the Board, but the Minister may from time to time extend the time for making and transmitting such report and recommendation; and in the same manner a minority report may be made by any dissenting member of the Board.

28. Upon receipt of the Board's report the Minister shall forthwith cause the report to be filed in the office of the Registrar and a copy thereof to be sent free of charge to the parties to the dispute, and to the representative of any newspaper published in Nova Scotia who applies therefor and the Minister may distribute copies of the report, and of any minority report in such manner as to him seems most desirable as a means of securing a compliance with the Board's recommendation. The Registrar shall, upon application, supply certified copies for a prescribed fee, to persons other than those mentioned in this section.

29. (1) For the information of the Legislature and the public, the report and recommendations of the Board, and any minority report, shall, without delay, be published in the Royal Gazette, either verbatim or in summary form as the Minister may determine. (2) Where any question arises as to the meaning or application of, or as to anything relating to or connected with

(a) any recommendation made by the Board; or,

(b) any settlement agreement drawn up by the Board under Section Twenty-four of this Act, the Minister, where he deems it expedient, may on the application of either party or of his own motion, request from the chairman of the Board an expression of the Board's opinion upon such question, and the chairman shall upon receipt of such request reconvene the Board, and the Board shall as soon as practicable report to the Minister its opinion upon such question.

30. (1) For the purpose of its inquiry the Board shall have all the powers of summoning before it and enforcing the attendance of witnesses, of administering oaths, and of requiring witnesses to give evidence on oath or on solemn affirmation (if they are persons entitled to affirm in civil matters) and to produce such books, papers or other documents or things as the Board deems requisite to the full investigation of the matters into which it is inquiring, as is vested in any court of record in civil cases.

(2) Any member of the Board may administer an oath, and the Board may accept, admit and call for such evidence as in fairness and good conscience it thinks fit, whether strictly legal evidence or not.

31. The summons shall be in the prescribed form, and may require any person to produce before the Board any books, papers or other documents or things in his possession or under his control in any way relating to the proceedings.

32. All books, papers and other documents or things produced before the Board, whether voluntarily or in pursuance to summons, may be inspected by the Board, and also by such parties as the Board allows; but the information obtained therefrom shall not, except in so far as the Board deems it expedient, be made public, and such parts of the books, papers or other documents as in the opinion of the Board do not relate to the matter at issue may be sealed up.

33. Any party to the proceedings shall be competent and may be compelled to give evidence as a witness.

34. Every person who is summoned and duly attends as a witness shall be entitled to an allowance for expenses according to the scale for the time being in force with respect to witnesses in civil suits in the Supreme Court with a minimum allowance of four dollars per day.

35. If any person who has been duly served with such summons and to whom at the same time payment or tender has been made of his reasonable travelling expenses according to the aforesaid scale, fails to duly attend or to duly produce any book, paper or other document or thing as required by his summons, he shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a penalty not exceeding one hundred dollars, unless he shows that there was good and sufficient cause for such failure.

36. If, in any proceedings before the Board, any person wilfully insults any member of the Board or wilfully interrupts the proceedings or without good cause refuses to give evidence, or is guilty in any other manner of any wilful contempt in the face of the Board, any officer of the Board or any constable may take the person offending into custody and remove him from the precincts of the Board to be detained in custody until the rising of the Board, and the person so offending shall be liable on summary conviction to a penalty not exceeding one hundred dollars.

37. The Board, or any member thereof, and, on being authorized in writing by the Board, any other person, may without any other warrant than this Act, at any time, enter any building, mine, mine workings, ship, vessel, factory, workshop, place or premises of any kind, wherein, or in respect of which, any industry is carried on or any work is being or has been done or commenced or any matter or thing is taking place or has taken place, and which in any way relates to the dispute which has been made the subject of a reference to the Board, and inspect and view any work, material, machinery, appliance or article therein, and interrogate any persons in or upon any such building, mine, mine workings, ship, vessel, factory, workshop, place or premises as aforesaid, in respect of or in relation to any matter or thing hereinbefore mentioned, and any person who hinders or obstructs the Board or any such person authorized as aforesaid, in the exercise of any power conferred by this section, shall be guilty of an offence and be liable on summary conviction to a penalty not exceeding one hundred dollars.

38. Any party to a reference may be represented before the Board by three or less than three persons designated for the purpose, or by counsel or solicitor where allowed as hereinafter provided.

39. Every party appearing by a representative shall be bound by the acts of such representative.

40. No counsel or solicitor shall be entitled to appear or be heard before the Board, except with the consent of the parties to the dispute, and notwithstanding such consent the Board may decline to allow counsel or solicitors to appear.

41. Persons, other than British subjects, shall not be allowed to act as members of a Board.

42. If, without good cause shown, any party to proceedings before the Board fails to attend or to be represented, the Board may proceed as if he had duly attended or had been represented.

43. The sittings of the Board shall be held at such time and place as are from time to time fixed by the chairman, after consultation with the other members of the Board, and the parties shall be notified by the chairman as to the time and place at which sittings are to be held; provided that, so far as practicable, the Board shall sit in the locality within which the subject-matter of the proceeding before it arose.

44. The proceedings of the Board shall be conducted in public; provided that at any such proceedings before it, the Board, on its own motion, or on the application of any of the parties, may direct that the proceedings shall be conducted in private and that all persons other than the parties, their representatives, the officers of the Board and the witnesses under examination shall withdraw.

45. The decision of a majority of the members present at a sitting of the Board shall be the decision of the Board, and the findings, and recommendations of the majority of its members shall be those of the Board.

46. The presence of the chairman and at least one other member of the Board shall be necessary to constitute a sitting of the Board.

47. (1) In case of the absence of any one member from a meeting of the Board the other two members shall not proceed, unless it is shown that the third member has been notified of the meeting in ample time to admit of his attendance.

(2) If any member of a Board dies, or becomes incapacitated, or refuses or neglects to act, his successor shall be appointed in the manner provided with respect to the original member of the Board.

48. The Board may at any time dismiss any matter referred to it which it thinks frivolous or trivial.

49. The Board may, with the consent of the Minister, employ competent experts or assessors to examine the books or official reports of either party, and to advise it upon any technical or other matter material to the investigation, but shall not disclose such reports or the results of such inspection or examination under this section without the consent of both the parties to the dispute.

Remuneration and Expenses of Board

50. The members of a Board shall be remunerated for their services as follows:(a) to members other than the chairman, an allowance of five dollars a day for a time not exceeding three days during which the members may be actually engaged in selecting a third member of the Board;

(b) to each member of the Board, including the chairman, an allowance at the rate of twenty dollars for each day's sitting of the Board and for each day necessarily engaged in travelling from or to his place of residence to attend or after attending a meeting of the Board.

51. No member of the Board shall accept in addition to his salary as a member of the Board any perquisite or gratuity of any kind, from any corporation, association, partnership or individual in any way interested in any matter or thing before or about to be brought before the Board in accordance with the provisions of this Act. The accepting of such perquisite or gratuity by any member of the Board shall be an offence and shall render such member liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars.

52. Each member of the Board will be entitled to his actual necessary travelling expenses for each day that he is engaged in travelling from or to his place of residence for the purpose of attending or after having attended a meeting of the Board.

53. All expenses of the Board, including expenses for transportation incurred by the members thereof or by persons under its order in making investigations under this Act, salaries of employees and agents, and fees and mileage to witness, shall be allowed and paid upon the presentation of itemized vouchers therefor, approved by the chairman of the Board, which vouchers shall be forwarded by the chairman to the Minister. The chairman shall also forward to the Minister a certified and detailed statement of the sittings of the Board, and of the members present at such sittings.

Duties of the Registrar

54. It shall be the duty of the Registrar,

(a) to receive and register, and, subject to the provisions of this Act, to deal with all applications by employers or employees for a reference of any dispute to a Board. and to at once bring to the Minister's attention every such application;

(b) to conduct such correspondence with the parties and members of Boards as may be necessary to constitute any Board as speedily as possible in accordance with the provisions of this Act;

(c) to receive and file all reports and recommendations of Boards, and conduct such correspondence and do such things as may assist in rendering effective the recommendations of the Boards, in accordance with the provisions of this Act; (d) to keep a register in which shall be entered the particulars of all applications, references, reports and recommendations relating to the appointment of a Board, and its proceedings; and to safely keep all applications, statements, reports, recommendations and other documents relating to proceedings before the Board, and, when so required, transmit all or any of such to the Minister;

(e) to supply to any parties, on request, information as to this Act, or any regulations or procedings thereunder, and also to furnish parties to a dispute and members of the Board with necessary blank forms, forms of summons or other papers or documents required in connection with the effective carrying out of the provisions of this Act;

(f) generally, to do all such things and take all such proceedings as may be required in the performance of his duties prescribed under this Act or any regulations thereunder.

D

Strikes and Lockouts Prior to and Pending a Reference to a Board

55. It shall be unlawful for any employer to declare or cause a lockout, or for any employee to go on strike, on account of any dispute prior to or during a reference of such dispute to a Board of Conciliation and Investigation under the provisions of this Act; provided that nothing in this Act shall prohibit the suspension or discontinuance of any industry or of the working of any persons therein for any cause not constituting a lockout or strike; provided also that, except where the parties have entered into an agreement under Section 60 of this Act, nothing in this Act shall be held to restrain any employer from declaring a lockout, or any employee from going on strike in respect of any dispute which has been duly referred to a Board and which has been dealt with under Section 24 or 25 of this Act.

56. Employers and employees shall give at least thirty days' notice of an intended change affecting conditions of employment with respect to wages or hours; and in the event of such intended change resulting in a dispute, until the dispute has been finally dealt with by a Board, and a copy of its report has been delivered through the Registrar to both the parties affected, neither of those parties shall alter the conditions of employment with respect to wages or hours, or on account of the disputes do or be concerned in doing, directly or indirectly, anything in the nature of a lockout or strike, or a suspension or discontinuance of employment or work, but the relationship of employer and employee shall continue uninterrupted by the dispute or anything arising out of the dispute; but if, in the opinion of the Board, either party uses this or any other provision of this Act for the purpose of unjustly maintaining a given condition of affairs through delay, and the Board so reports to the Minister, such party shall be guilty of an offence, and liable to the same penalties as are imposed for a violation of the last preceding section. 57. (1) Any employer declaring or causing a lockout contrary to the provisions of this Act shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a penalty not less than one hundred dollars, nor more than one thousand dollars for each day or part of a day that such lockout exists.

(2) Any employer who contrary to the provisions of Section 56 of this Act alters the conditions of employment with respect to wages or hours shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a penalty of not less than one hundred dollars and not more than one thousand dollars for each day or part of a day that such altered conditions are maintained.

58. (1) Any employee who goes on strike contrary to the provisions of this Act shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a penalty of not less than ten dollars nor more than fifty dollars, for each day or part of a day that such employee is on strike.

(2) Any employee who contrary to the provisions of Section 56 of this Act alters the conditions of employment with respect to wages or hours shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a penalty of not less than ten dollars and not more than fifty dollars for each day or part of a day that such altered conditions are maintained.

59. Any person who incites, encourages or aids in any manner any employer to declare or continue a lockout, or any employee to go or continue on strike contrary to the provisions of this Act, shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a penalty of not less than fifty dollars nor more than one thousand dollars.

Special Provisions

60. Either party to a dispute which may under this Act be referred to a Board may agree in writing at any time before or after the Board has made its report and recommendation, to be bound by the recommendation of the Board in the same manner as parties are bound upon an award made pursuant to a submission to arbitration; every agreement so to be bound made by one party shall be forwarded to the Registrar who shall communicate it to the other party, and if the other party agrees in like manner to be bound by the recommendation of the Board, then the recommendation shall be made on order of the Supreme Court on the application of either party and shall be enforceable by execution, attachment or otherwise as the Supreme Court may order.

61. (1) In the event of a dispute arising in any business, trade, undertaking, calling or employment other than such as may be included under the provisions of this Act, and such dispute threatens to result in a lockout or strike, or has actually resulted in a lockout or strike, either of the parties may agree in writing to allow such dispute to be referred to a Board of Conciliation and Investigation to be appointed and established under the provisions of this Act.

(2) Every agreement to allow such reference shall be forwarded to the Registrar, who shall communicate it to the other party, and if such other party agrees in like manner to

allow the dispute to be referred to a Board, the dispute may be so referred as if the business, trade, undertaking, calling or employment and the parties were included within the provisions of this Act.

(3) From the time that the parties have been notified in writing by the Registrar that in consequence of their mutual agreement to refer the dispute to a Board under the provisions of this Act, the Minister has decided to refer such dispute, the lockout or strike, if in existence, shall forthwith cease and the provisions of this Act shall bind the parties. 62. Where in any industry any strike or lockout has occurred whether before or after the enactment of this Act or any strike or lockout seems to the Minister to be imminent and if in the public interest it seems to the Minister expedient, the Minister, on the application of any city, town or municipality interested, or of the mayor, warden or other head officer or acting head officer thereof, or of his own motion, may, without application of either of the parties to the dispute, strike, or lockout, whether it involves one or more employers or employees in the employ of one or more employers, establish and appoint a Board of Conciliation and Investigation under this Act in respect of such dispute, or strike or lockout, or may in any such case, if it seems to him expedient, either with or without an application from any interested party, recommend to the Governor-in-Council the appoint. ment of some person or persons as commissioner or commissioners under the provisions of the Public Inquiries Act to inquire into the dispute, strike or lockout, or into any matters or circumstances connected therewith.

63. The Minister, where he deems it expedient, may, either upon or without any application in that behalf, make or cause to be made any inquiries he thinks fit regarding industrial matters, and may cause such steps to be taken by his department and the officers thereof as seem calculated to secure industrial peace and to promote conditions favourable to settlement of disputes.

Miscellaneous

64. (1) No court of the Province shall have power or jurisdiction to recognize or enforce, or to receive in evidence any report of a Board, or any testimony or proceedings before a Board, as against any person or for any person except in the case of the prosecution of such person for perjury.

(2) No proceeding under this Act shall be deemed invalid by reason of any defect of form or any technical irregularity.

65. The Minister shall determine the allowances or amounts to be paid to all persons (other than the members of a Board), employed by the Government or any Board, including the Registrar, secretaries, clerks, experts, stenographers or other persons performing any services under the provisions of this Act.

66. In case of prosecutions under this Act, whether a conviction is or is not obtained, it shall be the duty of the justice or magistrate before whom any such prosecution takes place to briefly report the particulars of such prosecution to the Registrar within thirty days after it has been determined, and he shall be entitled to a prescribed fee in payment of his services.

67. The Governor-in-Council may make regulations as to the time within which anything hereby authorized shall be done, and also as to any other matter or thing which appears to him necessary or advisable to the effectual working of the several provisions of this Act. All such regulations shall go into force on the day of the publication thereof in The Royal Gazette.

68. All charges and expenses incurred by the Government in connection with the administration of the foregoing sections of this Act shall be defrayed out of the Provincial Treasury.

69. An annual report with respect to the matters transacted by him under this Act shall be made by the Minister to the Lieutenant-Governor, and shall be laid before the Legislature within the first fifteen days of each session thereof.

70. Chapters 247 and 248 of the Revised Statutes, 1923, entitled, "The Conciliation Act" and "The Miners' Arbitration Act," respectively, are repealed.

The Arbitration Commission

71. All the sections of this Act following this section shall come into force on, from and after and not before such day as the Governor-in-Council orders and declares by proclamation.

72. All charges and expenses incurred by the Commission under any of the sections of this Act following this section shall be defrayed out of the Provincial Treasury.