A Nova Scotia law intended to ensure that crime does not generate financial rewards is being used with new momentum, putting cash, vehicles and real estate in the sights of provincial authorities.
The province’s Department of Justice has begun pursuing more forfeiture cases under changes made last year to the Civil Forfeiture Act, a law that allows property believed to be connected to illegal activity to be targeted outside the usual criminal-court process.
The legislation can be applied even when there has been no criminal conviction. Instead, the government uses a lower threshold of proof than would be required to secure a criminal conviction, according to the source material. That distinction is central to the debate over the law: the process focuses on property and its alleged connection to unlawful activity, rather than solely on whether an accused person has been found guilty in criminal court.
A sharper increase in referrals
The law has been on Nova Scotia’s books since 2007, but forfeiture activity had slowed in recent years. The changes introduced last year appear to have altered that pattern, making it easier for police to refer cases and for the province to move ahead with applications.
Sgt. Wayne Ross, who leads the Nova Scotia RCMP’s commercial crime unit, said his team referred only three cases to the Department of Justice last year. So far this year, that figure has risen to 25 or more.
“We’re able to do more referrals, we can do them faster. So we can take an increased amount of profit out of crime. And it’s a significant deterrent to people.”
Ross was shown in Dartmouth in October 2026. His comments frame the government’s position: if money and valuable property are among the rewards of criminal activity, taking those assets away may weaken the incentive to commit offences.
| Measure | Reported figure |
|---|---|
| Year the act was introduced | 2007 |
| RCMP commercial-crime referrals last year | 3 |
| Referrals so far this year | 25 or more |
What authorities are seeking
The property involved is not limited to money held in a bank account. The province is seeking tens of thousands of dollars in suspected criminal proceeds, along with vehicles that include an Audi and Ford F-150 pickup trucks.
One of the most consequential cases involves a Dartmouth home owned by Robert List. The Department of Justice is seeking forfeiture of that property. List was photographed outside a Dartmouth courthouse in August 2025 before being sentenced for taking thousands of sexually explicit photos of boys.
The case illustrates why civil forfeiture can draw strong public support when property is alleged to have been connected to serious harm. It also shows why the process carries significant consequences: a home, unlike a bag of cash or a vehicle, is a central part of a person’s financial and family life.
Why the process is controversial
Supporters of the expanded approach see forfeiture as another tool for disrupting criminal enterprises. The RCMP says the revised system permits quicker referrals and a larger number of cases, potentially allowing investigators to focus on the proceeds associated with illegal activity rather than waiting for a criminal prosecution to conclude.
But the same features that make the system faster also raise questions about safeguards. A forfeiture application can proceed without a criminal conviction, and the standard of proof is lower than the criminal threshold. That means the government can seek property through a civil process even where the criminal courts have not produced a guilty finding.
- The act can be used against property suspected of being tied to unlawful activity.
- A criminal conviction is not required before authorities seek forfeiture.
- Recent changes have coincided with a substantial rise in police referrals.
- The property at issue can include cash, vehicles and homes.
The available information does not establish how many of the newer referrals will ultimately succeed, how much money the province expects to recover or what appeal outcomes may follow. Those details will matter as the law is used more frequently and in a wider range of cases.
A growing test for Nova Scotia
For Nova Scotians, the issue sits at the intersection of public safety, property rights and confidence in the justice system. The province is asserting that assets connected to crime should not remain available to those who benefit from illegal activity. At the same time, the greater the reach of the act, the more important transparency becomes around the evidence, the decisions and the protections available to property owners.
The sharp rise from three referrals last year to at least 25 this year suggests that the revised law is not a minor administrative adjustment. It has become an active part of the province’s response to suspected criminal profits.
As more cases move forward, Nova Scotia will be watching not only what authorities recover, but also how the courts and the public assess the balance between taking the proceeds out of crime and protecting the rights of people whose property is targeted.
