Bill 24: Temporary Access to Land Act and Joint Regional Transportation Agency Act (amended)*

Construction and development businesses in Nova Scotia — particularly contractors, developers, and builders working on commercial or multi-unit projects in urban areas — will be directly affected by the Temporary Access to Land Act, which gives them a legal pathway to access neighbouring properties when their work requires it and a neighbour won't cooperate. On the transportation side, businesses operating in the Halifax region (trucking, transit, logistics, port-related industries, and airport-connected sectors) will need to stay aligned with a new regional transportation plan, since municipal by-laws and policies on transportation must be consistent with that plan. Municipalities themselves face new ministerial order powers that could require them to build, change, or remove transportation infrastructure. The construction access provisions are time-limited to three years and apply to all non-residential builds, so any contractor in Nova Scotia doing commercial, industrial, or multi-unit work stands to benefit from or be subject to the new access rules.