As of February, you can keep that gift card you're going to get for Christmas for as long as you want.

The Nova Scotia government will ban expiry dates and fees on gift cards, effective Feb. 1.

"Consumers in Nova Scotia deserve to get the full value of the gift cards they buy, regardless of when they purchase them," Ramona Jennex, minister of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations, said today in a release.

The regulations apply to the two types of gift cards available in Nova Scotia — those for a specific good or service and those with a dollar value.

Cards with a dollar value bought before Feb. 1 but which are due to expire after that date are included in the new regulations and won't have an expiry date anymore, according to Ms. Jennex.

"We are doing this to add further protection for consumers who purchase these types of cards over the holiday season," she said in the release.

Cards for goods and services bought before Feb. 1, though, will expire as scheduled.

The new regulations also dictate that no fees can be charged except for customization or replacement. And contact and refund policy information must be included.

The new gift card regulations, which are being introduced in February to allow retailers to adjust, are similar to regulations in many other provinces in Canada, Ms. Jennex said.

Check out www.novascotiagiftcards.ca or call 1-800-670-4357 for more information.