Apprentice Loans Act (S.C. 2014, c. 20, s. 483)

Short Title

Marginal note:Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Apprentice Loans Act.

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

• 2 (1) The following definitions apply in this Act.

  eligible trade

  eligible trade means a trade listed in the schedule to the regulations. (métier admissible)

  Minister

  Minister means the Minister of Employment and Social Development. (ministre)

  technical training provider

  technical training provider means an institution that is approved by a province for the purpose of providing technical training. (fournisseur de formation technique)

• Marginal note:Other definitions

  (2) In this Act, the words and expressions apprentice, apprentice loan, borrower, eligible apprentice, technical training and technical training period have the meanings assigned by the regulations.

Purpose

Marginal note:Purpose

3 The purpose of this Act is to assist eligible apprentices by making loans available to them.

Apprentice Loans

Marginal note:Agreements with eligible apprentices

• 4 (1) Subject to subsection (2), the Minister, or any person authorized by order of the Minister to act on the Minister’s behalf, may enter into an agreement with any eligible apprentice who is registered in an eligible trade for the purpose of making an apprentice loan.

• Marginal note:Financial terms and conditions

  (2) Any terms and conditions in the agreement that could have a financial impact on Her Majesty in right of Canada are subject to approval by the Governor in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister with the concurrence of the Minister of Finance.

Marginal note:Agreements or arrangements with service providers

• 5 (1) The Minister may enter into an agreement or arrangement with any corporation incorporated under the laws of Canada or a province and carrying on business in Canada (in this section referred to as a “service provider”), respecting the administration of apprentice loans made by the Minister. An agreement may provide for, but is not limited to, any matter referred to in the regulations.

• Marginal note:Receipt and Deposit of Public Money Regulations, 1997

  (2) Despite section 3 of the Receipt and Deposit of Public Money Regulations, 1997, the portion of the following money that is public money and is collected or received electronically by a service provider that has entered into an agreement under subsection (1) must be paid to the credit of the Receiver General by depositing it, within two business days after the day on which it is collected or received, in an account established under subsection 17(2) of the Financial Administration Act:

  • (a) money collected or received as repayment of an apprentice loan or as payment of interest owing on that loan; and

  • (b) interest received by the service provider on the money referred to in paragraph (a).

• Definition of business day

  (3) In this section, business day means a day other than a Saturday or a holiday.

Marginal note:Suspension or denial of apprentice loans

6 The Minister may suspend or deny the making of apprentice loans to all those who are eligible apprentices participating in technical training provided by a technical training provider if the Minister is satisfied that there are compelling reasons to believe that the making of the apprentice loans would

• (a) facilitate the commission by the technical training provider of an offence under this Act or any other Act of Parliament; or

• (b) expose the eligible apprentices or Her Majesty in right of Canada to significant financial risk.

Special Payments

Marginal note:Special payments

7 The Minister may pay a province the amount that is determined in accordance with the regulations if

• (a) the Minister determines that apprentices registered with the province are unable to enter into agreements for apprentice loans under section 4;

• (b) the province has in place a program providing for financial assistance to apprentices; and

• (c) the Minister considers that the purpose of the program is substantially similar to the purpose of this Act.

Interest and Periods of Deferral

Marginal note:No accrual of interest

• 8 (1) Beginning on April 1, 2023, no interest is payable by a borrower on an apprentice loan.

• Marginal note:Clarification

  (1.1) For greater certainty, nothing in this section relieves a borrower from liability for interest that accrued before April 1, 2023 on an apprentice loan.

• Marginal note:Deferral period

  (2) No amount on account of principal or interest in respect of an apprentice loan is required to be paid by the borrower until the end of the prescribed period.

Period — March 30, 2020 to September 30, 2020

Marginal note:Suspension of interest and payments

8.1 During the period that begins on March 30, 2020 and ends on September 30, 2020,

• (a) no interest is payable by a borrower on an apprentice loan; and

• (b) no amount on account of principal and interest in respect of an apprentice loan is required to be paid by a borrower.

Period — April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2023

Marginal note:Suspension of interest

8.2 During the period that begins on April 1, 2021 and ends on March 31, 2023, no interest is payable by a borrower on an apprentice loan.

Marginal note:Payment of principal and interest

8.3 During the period that begins on April 1, 2021 and ends on March 31, 2023, section 4 of the Apprentice Loans Regulations is to be read as follows:

• 4 (1) The borrower must begin to repay the principal amount of any apprentice loan made to them, and interest, on the last day of the month in which interest started accruing or would have started accruing but for the interest suspension period.

• (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), interest suspension period means the period that begins on April 1, 2021 and ends on March 31, 2023 during which no interest is payable by a borrower on an apprentice loan.

Death or Disability of Borrower

Marginal note:Death of borrower

9 All obligations of a borrower in respect of an apprentice loan terminate if the borrower dies.

Marginal note:Severe permanent disability

• 10 (1) All obligations of a borrower in respect of an apprentice loan terminate if the Minister is satisfied, on the basis of information specified by the Minister and provided by or on behalf of the borrower, that the borrower, by reason of the borrower’s severe permanent disability, is unable to repay the loan and will never be able to repay it.

• Definition of severe permanent disability

  (2) In this section, the expression severe permanent disability has the meaning assigned by the regulations.

Maximum Amount of Outstanding Apprentice Loans

Marginal note:Maximum amount

11 The aggregate amount of apprentice loans made under this Act that are outstanding may not exceed the prescribed amount.

Regulations

Marginal note:Regulations

• 12 (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations

  • (a) defining the words and expressions referred to in subsections 2(2), 10(2) and 17(7);

  • (b) establishing a schedule that sets out a list of eligible trades, including eligible trades by province;

  • (c) prescribing the circumstances in which a borrower is or ceases to be an eligible apprentice;

  • (d) providing for the conditions to be met before a disbursement in respect of an apprentice loan may be made;

  • (e) prescribing the manner of determining the amount that may be paid to a province under section 7;

  • (f) [Repealed, 2022, c. 19, s. 166]

  • (g) prescribing the circumstances under which an apprentice loan may be denied to an eligible apprentice;

  • (h) prescribing the maximum amount of an apprentice loan that may be made to an eligible apprentice for each technical training period;

  • (i) prescribing the maximum period that may elapse after which, despite anything in this Act, the principal amount of an apprentice loan and interest on that amount begin to be payable by the borrower;

  • (j) prescribing the maximum number of technical training periods for which an apprentice is eligible to be advanced an apprentice loan;

  • (k) [Repealed, 2022, c. 19, s. 166]

  • (l) providing for repayment of apprentice loans by borrowers or classes of borrowers on an income-contingent basis;

  • (m) prescribing information to be included in any form or document referred to in section 13 in addition to any information that is otherwise required under this Act to be included in the form or document;

  • (n) providing for the times referred to in paragraph 15(a);

  • (o) providing for the form and manner in which information referred to in paragraph 15(b) is to be provided;

  • (p) providing for the measures referred to in subsection 20(1);

  • (q) providing for the period after which the Minister may no longer take a measure referred to in paragraph (p);

  • (r) prescribing anything that, by this Act, is to be prescribed by the regulations; and

  • (s) generally, for carrying into effect the purposes and provisions of this Act.

• Marginal note:Maximum aggregate amount of outstanding apprentice loans

  (2) On the Minister’s recommendation with the Minister of Finance’s concurrence, the Governor in Council may make regulations, for the purposes of section 11,

  • (a) prescribing the aggregate amount of outstanding apprentice loans that may not be exceeded; and

  • (b) prescribing the apprentice loans that are to be considered for the purposes of determining, at a given time, the aggregate amount of outstanding apprentice loans.

• Marginal note:Eligible trades

  (3) The Minister may, by regulation, amend the schedule to the regulations by adding a trade to it or removing a trade from it.

• Marginal note:Externally produced material

  (4) A regulation made under this section may incorporate by reference documents produced by a person or body other than the Minister, including by

  • (a) an organization established for the purpose of writing standards, including an organization accredited by the Standards Council of Canada;

  • (b) an industrial or trade organization; or

  • (c) a government.

• Marginal note:Reproduced or translated material

  (5) A regulation made under this section may incorporate by reference documents that the Minister reproduces or translates from documents produced by a body or person other than the Minister

  • (a) with any adaptations of form and reference that will facilitate their incorporation into the regulation; or

  • (b) in a form that sets out only the parts of them that apply for the purposes of the regulation.

• Marginal note:Jointly produced documents

  (6) A regulation made under this section may incorporate by reference documents that the Minister produces jointly with another government for the purpose of harmonizing the regulation with other laws.

• Marginal note:Internally produced standards

  (7) A regulation made under this section may incorporate by reference technical or explanatory documents that the Minister produces, including

  • (a) specifications, classifications or other information of a technical nature; and

  • (b) test methods, procedures, operational standards, safety standards or performance standards of a technical nature.

• Marginal note:Incorporation as amended from time to time

  (8) Documents may be incorporated by reference as amended from time to time.

• Marginal note:For greater certainty

  (9) Subsections (4) to (8) are for greater certainty and do not limit any authority to make regulations incorporating material by reference that exists apart from those subsections.

• Marginal note:Accessibility

  (10) The Minister must ensure that any document that is incorporated by reference in the regulation is accessible.

• Marginal note:Defence

  (11) A person is not liable to be found guilty of an offence for any contravention in respect of which a document that is incorporated by reference in the regulation is relevant unless, at the time of the alleged contravention, the document was accessible as required by subsection (10) or it was otherwise accessible to the person.

• Marginal note:Registration and publication not required

  (12) For greater certainty, a document that is incorporated by reference in the regulation is not required to be transmitted for registration or published in the Canada Gazette under the Statutory Instruments Act by reason only that it is incorporated by reference.