BILL NO. 39

(as introduced)

2nd Session, 62nd General Assembly
Nova Scotia
63 Elizabeth II, 2014

Private Member's Bill

New Graduates and Apprentices Retention Act

The Honourable Frank Corbett
Cape Breton Centre

First Reading: October 15, 2014

Second Reading:

Third Reading:

Be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:

1 This Act may be cited as the New Graduates and Apprentices Retention Act.

2 In this Act,

(a) "apprentice" has the same meaning as in the Apprenticeship and Trades Qualifications Act;

(b) "contractor" includes a subcontractor;

(c) "financial assistance" means a tax credit, a tax exemption, a tax rebate or any other type of financial incentive provided to a business by the Government of the Province, directly or through a governmental unit, as defined in the Finance Act, and includes assistance by way of loan, loan guarantee, payroll rebate, the purchase or guarantee of bonds, debentures, notes or other debt obligations and the purchase or acquisition of any common or preferred shares or other equity securities, including venture capital investments;

(d) "government infrastructure contract" means a contract awarded by the Government of the Province for the construction, extension, enlargement, repair, maintenance or improvement of a road, building, structure or other work;

(e) "Minister" means the Minister of Labour and Advanced Education;

(f) "new graduate" means an individual who has graduated from a post-secondary educational institution in the preceding 24 months;

(g) "recipient" means any person that receives financial assistance or any contractor that is required to enter into an agreement by Section 3.

3 On or after April 1, 2015,

(a) no financial assistance may be granted to a recipient; and

(b) no government infrastructure project may be awarded to a recipient that is in a class of contractor identified by a policy referred to in Section 4,

unless the recipient enters into an agreement with Her Majesty in right of the Province that meets the requirements prescribed by the regulations and requires the recipient to employ apprentices or new graduates in accordance with the terms and conditions, including the targets and timelines, set out in the agreement.

4 The Government of the Province shall develop a policy respecting the employment of apprentices and new graduates by contractors who enter into government infrastructure contracts, which policy must identify the classes of contractors that must enter into an agreement under Section 3.

5 A recipient shall submit to the Minister reports, as required by the agreement, specifying the recipient's progress in meeting the targets and timelines set out in the terms and conditions of each agreement to which the recipient is a party.

6 (1) On or before April 1, 2015, the Minister shall make regulations respecting the form and content of agreements for the purpose of Section 3, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, regulations

(a) prescribing the terms and conditions that must be included in the agreements, including prescribing different terms and conditions for different classes of agreements;

(b) establishing targets and timelines, including timelines with respect to the filing of reports for the purpose of Section 5, that must be set out in the terms and conditions included in the agreements or prescribing how those targets and timelines must be established.

(2) Before making regulations pursuant to subsection (1), the Minister shall seek recommendations from the Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency, a special operating agency designated pursuant to the Public Service Act.

(3) In making regulations pursuant to subsection (1), the Minister shall take into account the recommendations of the Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency obtained pursuant to subsection (2) and the policy developed for the purpose of Section 4.

(4) The exercise by the Minister of the authority contained in subsection (1) is a regulation within the meaning of the Regulations Act.