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”

  « métier admissible »

  “eligible trade” means a trade listed in the schedule to the regulations.

  “Minister”

  « ministre »

  “Minister” means the Minister of Employment and Social Development.

  “technical training provider”

  « fournisseur de formation technique »

  “technical training provider” means an institution that is approved by a province for the purpose of providing technical training.

• 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-FREE AND DEFERRAL PERIODS

Marginal note:Interest-free period

• 8. (1) Subject to the regulations, no interest is payable by a borrower on an apprentice loan for the interest-free period that is set out in the regulations.

• 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.

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) prescribing the manner of determining the interest-free period referred to in subsection 8(1), including any conditions for continued eligibility for an interest-free period;

  • (g) prescribing the circumstances under which an apprentice loan may be denied to an eligible apprentice, or an interest-free period referred to in subsection 8(1) may be terminated by the Minister;

  • (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) providing for the establishment and operation of a program to provide special interest-free or interest-reduced periods to borrowers or classes of borrowers, including the terms and conditions of the granting or termination of those special periods;

  • (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.

GENERAL

Marginal note:Forms and documents

13. A form or other document that is to be used in connection with making apprentice loans, or to be otherwise used for the effective operation of this Act, must be either determined by the Minister or approved by the Minister.

Marginal note:Right of recovery by Minister

14. An apprentice loan that is made to a borrower who is not of full age and any interest on the loan are recoverable by the Minister from the borrower as though the borrower had been of full age at the time the agreement was entered into.

Marginal note:Waiver

15. On application by an eligible apprentice or a borrower, the Minister may, to avoid undue hardship to the apprentice or borrower, waive

• (a) a requirement of the regulations with respect to the times within which information in respect of the eligible apprentice or borrower is to be provided; or

• (b) a requirement of the regulations with respect to the form or manner in which information in respect of the eligible apprentice or borrower is to be provided, or a requirement determined or approved by the Minister with respect to a form or other document in which such information is to be provided.

Marginal note:Apprentice loan denied due to error

16. If the Minister is satisfied that, as a result of an error made in the administration of this Act or the regulations, a person was denied an apprentice loan to which the person would have been entitled, the Minister may take remedial action to place the person in the position that he or she would have been in under this Act had the error not been made.

Marginal note:Limitation or prescription period

• 17. (1) Subject to this section, no action or proceedings may be taken to recover money owing under this Act after the end of the six-year period that begins on the day on which the money becomes due and payable.

• Marginal note:Deduction and set-off

  (2) Money owing by a person under this Act may be recovered at any time by way of deduction from, set-off against or, in Quebec, compensation against any sum of money that may be due or payable by Her Majesty in right of Canada to the person or their estate or succession.

• Marginal note:Acknowledgment of liability

  (3) If a person acknowledges liability for money owing under this Act, the time during which the limitation or prescription period has run before the acknowledgment of liability does not count in the calculation of that period.

• Marginal note:Acknowledgment of liability after end of limitation or prescription period

  (4) If a person acknowledges liability for money owing under this Act after the end of the limitation or prescription period, an action or proceedings to recover the money may, subject to subsections (3) and (5), be brought within six years after the date of the acknowledgment of liability.

• Marginal note:Limitation or prescription period suspended

  (5) The running of a limitation or prescription period in respect of an apprentice loan is suspended during any period in which it is prohibited to commence or continue an action or other proceedings against the borrower to recover money owing under the loan.

• Marginal note:Enforcement proceedings

  (6) This section does not apply in respect of an action or proceedings relating to the execution, renewal or enforcement of a judgment.

• Definition of “acknowledgement of liability”

  (7) In this section, the expression “acknowledgement of liability” has the meaning assigned by the regulations.

Marginal note:Requirement to provide information or documents

• 18. (1) For the purpose of verifying compliance or preventing non-compliance with this Act, the Minister may, by notice served personally or by confirmed delivery service, require any person to whom an apprentice loan has been made to provide the Minister, within the time and in the manner that are stipulated in the notice, with any information or document that is in their possession or to which they could reasonably be expected to have access.

• Marginal note:Copies as evidence

  (2) When a document is provided in accordance with subsection (1), the Minister may make, or cause to be made, one or more certified copies of it and any of those copies is evidence of the nature and content of the original document and has the same probative force as the original document would have if it were proven in the ordinary way.

Marginal note:False statement or information

• 19. (1) Every person who, in respect of an apprentice loan, knowingly makes any false statement or misrepresentation, including by omission, in an application or other document or knowingly provides any false or misleading information, including by omission, is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000.

• Marginal note:Limitation period

  (2) A prosecution for an offence under this Act may not be instituted later than six years after the time when the subject matter of the complaint arose.

Marginal note:Administrative measures

• 20. (1) If a person, in respect of an apprentice loan, knowingly makes any false statement or misrepresentation, including by omission, in an application or other document or knowingly provides any false or misleading information, including by omission, the Minister may take any measure provided for in the regulations.

• Marginal note:Notice

  (2) However, the Minister may not take any measure under subsection (1) without having given the person 60 days’ notice of the Minister’s intention to take it.

• Marginal note:Submissions

  (3) The person may make submissions to the Minister in respect of the measure at any time.

• Marginal note:Rescission or modification of measure

  (4) The Minister may rescind or modify a measure taken under subsection (1) if new facts are presented or the Minister considers that the measure was taken without knowledge of a material fact or on the basis of a mistake concerning one.

Marginal note:Authority to enter into agreements and arrangements

21. The Minister may

• (a) enter into agreements or arrangements with any department, board or agency of the Government of Canada or any other public or private organization or agency to assist the Minister in carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Act; and

• (b) with the approval of the Governor in Council, enter into agreements or arrangements with the government of any province to facilitate the administration or enforcement of this Act.

Marginal note:Payment out of C.R.F.

22. Any amount payable by the Minister under this Act, the regulations or an agreement or arrangement entered into under this Act, including any apprentice loans to be made by the Minister, is to be paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.