Acts and Regulations

P-16.1 - Private Occupational Training Act

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Full text
Current to 1 January 2024
CHAPTER P-16.1
Private Occupational Training Act
1996, c.71, s.1
Definitions
1In this Act
“Board” Repealed: 2016, c.28, s.165
“Corporation” Repealed: 2016, c.28, s.165
“equivalent training” means training in the same trade and to the same level of qualification as the training a student was to have received in an occupational training program;(formation équivalente)
“Fund” means the Training Completions Fund established under section 6.41;(Fonds)
“Minister” means the Minister of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour and includes persons designated by the Minister to act on the Minister’s behalf;(Ministre)
“occupational training program” means any course or program of study(programme de formation professionnelle)
(a) provided to a person
(i) to enhance that person’s employability in an occupation, or
(ii) to improve that person’s ability to carry out a present or future occupation, and
(b) for which tuition fees are paid to a training organization by the person or charged to a third party on the person’s behalf;
“student” means a person who has entered into or on whose behalf a third party has entered into a contract under section 6.2;(étudiant)
“training organization” means a person or an organization, whether incorporated or not, that provides or undertakes to provide an occupational training program; (organisme de formation)
“tuition fees” means the fees charged by a training organization to a person or to a third party on a person’s behalf for an occupational training program, excluding enrolment fees, registration fees, non-refundable deposits and the costs of materials and supplies.(frais de scolarité)
1969, c.20, s.1; 1982, c.3, s.76; 1985, c.4, s.66; 1986, c.8, s.125; 1992, c.2, s.60; 1996, c.71, s.2; 1998, c.41, s.96; 2000, c.26, s.250; 2001, c.23, s.1; 2006, c.16, s.142; 2007, c.10, s.80; 2016, c.28, s.165; 2017, c.63, s.49; 2019, c.2, s.114; 2024, c.21, s.1
Application of Act
1.1This Act does not apply to
(a) a chartered university in Canada,
(b) a course of study offered or provided by a department of the Government of Canada or of any province,
(b.1) a course of study offered or provided by the Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick (CCNB),
(b.2) a course of study offered or provided by the New Brunswick Community College (NBCC),
(c) a public school under any other Act of the Legislature,
(d) a person or an organization exempted by regulation from the definition “training organization”, or
(e) an occupational training program exempted by regulation.
1996, c.71, s.3; 2010, c.N-4.05, s.58
Person or organization to be registered
Repealed: 2024, c.21, s.2
2024, c.21, s.2
2Repealed: 2024, c.21, s.3
1969, c.20, s.2; 1996, c.71, s.4; 2024, c.21, s.3
Person and training organization to be registered
Repealed: 2024, c.21, s.4
2024, c.21, s.4
3Repealed: 2024, c.21, s.5
1969, c.20, s.3; 1996, c.71, s.5; 2001, c.23, s.2; 2024, c.21, s.5
Registration and authorization required
2024, c.21, s.6
3.1(1)No training organization shall provide or undertake to provide an occupational training program unless the training organization is registered under this Act and authorized to provide the occupational training program.
3.1(2)No training organization shall enrol students or collect tuition fees from students for an occupational training program or any other fees from students unless the training organization is registered under this Act and authorized to provide the occupational training program.
3.1(3)No person shall act as an agent, representative or salesperson of a training organization or canvass, receive, take or solicit contracts for the purchase or sale of an occupational training program unless the training organization providing the occupational training program is registered under this Act and is authorized to provide the occupational training program and the agent, representative or salesperson is authorized to act as an agent, representative or salesperson under subparagraph 6(3)(b)(ii).
3.1(4)No person shall act as a teacher, instructor or training assistant of an occupational training program unless the training organization providing the occupational training program is registered under this Act and is authorized to provide the occupational training program and the teacher, instructor or training assistant is authorized to act as a teacher, instructor or training assistant under subparagraph 6(3)(b)(iii).
2024, c.21, s.6
Application for registration or for renewal of registration
4(1)A training organization may apply to the Minister to be registered under this Act in the form and the manner established by the Minister.
4(2)An application under subsection (1) shall include the information prescribed by regulation and shall be accompanied by a security in a form acceptable to the Minister.
1969, c.20, s.4; 1996, c.71, s.6; 2024, c.21, s.7
Application for modification of registration
2024, c.21, s.8
4.1A training organization registered under this Act shall, in the circumstances prescribed by regulation, apply to the Minister to modify its registration in accordance with the regulations.
2024, c.21, s.8
Repealed
5Repealed: 1996, c.71, s.7
1969, c.20, s.5; 1996, c.71, s.7
Registration
6(1)On receipt of an application for registration, the Minister may register a training organization.
6(2)In addition to any requirements prescribed by regulation, the Minister may impose requirements for registration under this Act or for occupational training programs, including requirements with respect to teachers, instructors and training assistants.
6(3)If the Minister registers a training organization, the Minister shall
(a) issue a certificate of registration to the training organization that includes
(i) the name of the training organization,
(ii) the business address of the training organization,
(iii) the contact information of the training organization,
(iv) the date the registration is issued, and
(v) the locations where the training organization is authorized to provide the occupational training programs, and
(b) establish, in writing, and provide to the training organization
(i) the occupational training programs the training organization is authorized to provide, subject to the regulations,
(ii) the names of persons who are authorized to act as agents, representatives and salespersons for the training organization,
(iii) the names of persons who are authorized to act as teachers, instructors and training assistants for the training organization, and
(iv) the requirements imposed on the training organization under subsection (2), if any.
6(4)The Minister shall establish and maintain a registry of training organizations registered under this Act that is accessible to the public and that includes the information set out in subsection (3) and information on the results of inspections and any suspensions of registrations.
6(5)With respect to the information, including personal information, referred to in subsection (4), the Minister may collect the information, use the information for the purposes of establishing and maintaining the registry and disclose the information to the public.
1969, c.20, s.6; 1996, c.71, s.8; 2024, c.21, s.9
Confidentiality
6.1The curriculum and the financial statements of a training organization obtained under this Act by the Minister are confidential and shall not be disclosed, or permitted to be disclosed, by the Minister unless
(a) the training organization from which the curriculum or the financial statements were obtained or to which the curriculum or the financial statements relate consents in writing to the disclosure,
(b) the disclosure is for purposes of the prosecution of an offence under this Act or the regulations, or
(c) the disclosure is required for purposes of an investigation under section 7.
1996, c.71, s.9; 2001, c.23, s.3
Contracts
6.2Before the commencement of an occupational training program, the training organization providing the occupational training program, or an agent, representative or salesperson of the training organization, and the person to whom the occupational training program is to be provided, or a third party on that person’s behalf, shall enter into a contract in relation to the occupational training program.
1996, c.71, s.9
Repealed
6.3Repealed: 2016, c.28, s.166
1996, c.71, s.9; 2016, c.28, s.166
Repealed
6.4Repealed: 2016, c.28, s.167
1996, c.71, s.9; 2001, c.23, s.4; 2016, c.28, s.167
Training Completions Fund
6.41(1)There is established a trust fund to be known as the Training Completions Fund.
6.41(2)The Fund shall consist of
(a) money remitted for deposit to the credit of the Fund under subsection (8), paragraph 6.6(2)(b) and subsection 8(2),
(b) a loan provided to the Fund by the Minister under section 6.5,
(c) any interest arising from the investment of money in the Fund, and
(d) any other source of revenue as may be prescribed by regulation.
6.41(3)The Fund shall be administered by the Minister and shall be held in trust for the purposes of this Act in a separate account in the Consolidated Fund.
6.41(4)The Minister shall not invest the money in the Fund other than in the manner authorized by the Trustees Act.
6.41(5)The purposes of the Fund are
(a) to provide compensation to a student, or a third party who has paid tuition fees on behalf of a student, if a training organization fails to provide, to completion, the occupational training program for which the tuition fees have been paid,
(b) to provide compensation to a student, or a third party who has paid tuition fees on behalf of a student, if the contract entered into with a training organization, or an agent, representative or salesperson of the training organization, by or on behalf of the student is rescinded in accordance with the regulation and the training organization fails to refund money repayable under the regulation,
(c) to pay the costs of an audit of the accounts of the Fund under subsection (12), and
(d) to carry out any other purposes as may be prescribed by regulation.
6.41(6)Payments for the purposes of subsection (5) shall be a charge on and payable out of the Fund.
6.41(7)The Minister shall, in a case within paragraph (5)(a),
(a) pay for the student to complete equivalent training with another training organization, or
(b) refund the student, or the third party who paid the tuition fees on the student’s behalf,
(i) the tuition fees for the last academic year for which tuition fees were paid, and
(ii) any reasonable accommodation costs paid by the student or the third party as may be determined by the Minister.
6.41(8)If the Minister provides compensation under paragraph (5)(b), the training organization that failed to refund money repayable under the regulation shall, within 30 days after being requested by the Minister to do so, remit to the Minister for deposit to the credit of the Fund the money that the training organization failed to refund under the regulation.
6.41(9)Despite any other provision of this section,
(a) no compensation shall be provided under paragraph (5)(a) or (b) to a student or a third party referred to in paragraph (5)(a) or (b) if the training organization has not charged and collected from the student or the third party the student protection fee required under section 6.6, and
(b) if there is insufficient money in the Fund to provide compensation in a case within paragraph (5)(a) or (b), the compensation provided shall
(i) not exceed the amount of money in the Fund, and
(ii) be provided on a proportional basis.
6.41(10)The fiscal year of the Fund is the period commencing on April 1 in one year and ending on March 31 in the next year.
6.41(11)For each fiscal year the Minister shall prepare financial statements of the Fund.
6.41(12)The accounts and transactions of the Fund shall be audited annually by an auditor appointed for that purpose.
6.41(13)Within six months after the end of the fiscal year, each year the Minister shall submit to the Lieutenant-Governor in Council for information purposes a copy of the audited financial statements of the Fund for that fiscal year.
6.41(14)Within three months after a copy of the audited financial statements has been submitted under subsection (13), the Minister shall table the audited financial statements in the Legislative Assembly if it is then sitting or, if it is not then sitting, with the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly.
2016, c.28, s.168
Loan to Fund
6.5(1)The Minister, with the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, may make a loan to the Fund for the purposes of section 6.41.
6.5(2)A loan under subsection (1) shall
(a) be in accordance with the terms and conditions specified by the Minister or specified in the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, and
(b) be deposited by the Minister to the credit of the Fund.
1996, c.71, s.9; 2016, c.28, s.169
Source of Fund
6.6(1)Before the commencement of an occupational training program, the training organization providing the occupational training program shall charge and collect from each student enrolled in the occupational training program, or a third party on the student’s behalf, a student protection fee determined in accordance with the regulations.
6.6(2)Within fifteen days after the commencement of an occupational training program, the training organization providing the occupational training program shall
(a) provide to the Minister a student list on a form provided by the Minister, and
(b) remit to the Minister for deposit to the credit of the Fund all of the student protection fees that the training organization is required to charge and collect under subsection (1).
1996, c.71, s.9; 2001, c.23, s.5; 2016, c.28, s.170
Application for compensation
6.7(1)A student or a third party who has paid tuition fees on a student’s behalf may apply to the Minister, on a form provided by the Minister, for compensation under paragraph 6.41(5)(a) or (b).
6.7(2)The Minister may require from a student or a third party who has applied to the Minister for compensation under paragraph 6.41(5)(a) or (b) the information the Minister considers necessary to support the application.
1996, c.71, s.9; 2016, c.28, s.171
Student complaints
2024, c.21, s.10
6.8A student may make a complaint to the Minister against a training organization registered under this Act, and the complaint shall be dealt with in accordance with a procedure established by the Minister.
2024, c.21, s.10
Inspection of training organization
7(0.1)The Minister may appoint in writing a person as an inspector for the purpose of ensuring compliance with this Act and the regulations.
7(1)An inspector may, at any reasonable time, enter the premises used by a training organization
(a) to observe the method of instruction given in the occupational training program,
(b) to inspect the premises and equipment used by the training organization and any records or documents of the training organization, including materials used for instruction or for advertising the training organization, and
(c) to determine the degree of compliance with this Act and the regulations.
7(2)For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b), an inspector may require from a training organization the production of the records and documents of the training organization.
1969, c.20, s.7; 1996, c.71, s.10; 2001, c.23, s.6; 2024, c.21, s.11; 2024, c.21, s.12
Power of Minister
8(1)If the Minister is satisfied that a training organization has failed to comply with any provision of this Act or the regulations or has knowingly provided misleading or false information, the Minister may do any or all of the following:
(a) cancel or suspend the registration of the training organization;
(b) realize or negotiate any security provided by the training organization;
(c) require that any tuition fees or other fees paid in advance be refunded;
(d) impose conditions on the registration of the training organization; and
(e) issue a compliance order.
8(2)If the Minister acts under paragraph (1)(b), the Minister shall deposit the proceeds of the security, in an amount not greater than the amount of compensation provided under paragraph 6.41(5)(a) or (b), to the credit of the Fund.
1969, c.20, s.8; 1996, c.71, s.11; 2016, c.28, s.172; 2024, c.21, s.13
Offences and penalty
9(1)A person who violates or fails to comply with any provision of the regulations commits an offence punishable under Part II of the Provincial Offences Procedure Act as a category B offence.
9(2)A person who violates or fails to comply with subsection 3.1(1), (2), (3) or (4) commits an offence punishable under Part II of the Provincial Offences Procedure Act as a category E offence.
1969, c.20, s.9; 1990, c.61, s.139; 2024, c.21, s.15
Actions by and against training organization
10(1)No training organization shall maintain any action or other proceeding in any court in the Province on any contract in relation to an occupational training program provided by the training organization unless the training organization is registered under this Act for that occupational training program.
10(2)No training organization shall charge or collect any tuition fees or other fees from a person, or a third party on a person’s behalf, in relation to an occupational training program provided by the training organization unless the training organization is registered under this Act for that occupational training program.
10(3)Where a training organization violates subsection (2), the training organization shall, within five days after receipt of a written request from the person who paid the tuition fees or other fees, or from the third party who paid the tuition fees or other fees on the person’s behalf, refund to that person or that third party, as the case may be, any tuition fees and other fees paid.
10(4)The amount of a refund owing under subsection (3) constitutes a debt due by the training organization to the person who paid the fees, or to the third party who paid the fees on the person’s behalf, as the case may be, and may be recovered as a debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.
10(5)A document signed by the Minister, or bearing a signature purporting to be that of the Minister, stating that on the date specified in the document a training organization was not registered under this Act for the occupational training program specified in the document may be adduced in evidence without proof of the appointment or signature of the Minister, and when so adduced is, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, proof of the matters stated in the document.
1969, c.20, s.10; 1996, c.71, s.12
Designates of the Minister
10.1The Minister may designate persons to act on the Minister’s behalf.
1996, c.71, s.13
Regulations
11The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may make regulations
(a) respecting the security to be provided by a training organization for the due performance of contracts entered into by the training organization and respecting the forfeiture of such security, which regulations may apply to all training organizations or any class of training organizations;
(b) respecting the security to be provided by an agent, representative or salesperson of a training organization for the due accounting by the agent, representative or salesperson of deposits or money received on behalf of a training organization and the due performance of the contracts of the training organization and respecting the forfeiture of such security, which regulations may apply to the agents, representatives or salespersons of all training organizations or to the agents, representatives or salespersons of any class of training organizations;
(c) respecting the terms and conditions on which tuition fees and any other fees may be collected by a training organization;
(d) respecting the terms and conditions on which money paid for or on account of instruction by a training organization shall be either retained by the payee or be repayable to the payer;
(e) respecting the amount that may be asked, charged or received from the public for any article produced entirely or in part in an occupational training program, or for the material used by or for the services of any employee or student of a training organization;
(f) limiting the amount of articles, goods or commodities produced by students enrolled in an occupational training program so that the training organization providing the occupational training program may not compete unfairly with the production of similar articles, goods or commodities in any factory or shop;
(g) Repealed: 2024, c.21, s.18
(h) respecting the registration of a training organization under this Act and the modification, suspension and cancellation of the registration, including the requirements for registration and the modification, suspension and cancellation of the registration which may vary according to the occupational training program to be provided;
(h.1) respecting an application by a training organization for the registration, modification or cancellation of a registration under this Act, including the information to be provided and the circumstances in which an application may or shall be made;
(h.2) prescribing the circumstances in which a training organization shall apply to the Minister to modify its registration;
(h.3) respecting a review process for an application for registration, modification or cancellation of a registration that is rejected by the Minister;
(i) respecting fees for the purposes of this Act and the regulations;
(j) respecting forms for the purposes of this Act and the regulations;
(k) respecting the selling, advertising and offering for sale of any occupational training program offered by a training organization and prohibiting any selling, advertising or offering for sale not in conformity with the regulations;
(l) respecting the terms, conditions and method upon which agents, representatives and salespersons may be employed;
(m) respecting contracts for the purposes of section 6.2;
(n) Repealed: 2016, c.28, s.173
(o) Repealed: 2016, c.28, s.173
(p) prescribing other sources of revenue of the Fund;
(q) prescribing other purposes for which the Fund may be used;
(q.1) prescribing information to be retained by a training organization and the periods within which the information shall be retained;
(q.2) prescribing information to be provided to the Minister by a training organization;
(q.3) authorizing the Minister to establish the procedure to be followed with respect to the provision of information to the Minister by a training organization, including the form of the information and the periods within which the information shall be provided;
(r) respecting the determination of the student protection fee for the purposes of subsection 6.6(1);
(s) prescribing the procedure to be followed in rescinding contracts before completion which will provide fair protection to the training organization and the student;
(s.1) Repealed: 2024, c.21, s.18
(t) exempting any person or organization from the definition “training organization”;
(t.1) prescribing requirements for occupational training programs which may vary according to the occupational training program;
(t.2) prescribing requirements for teachers, instructors and training assistants which may vary according to the occupational training program;
(t.3) prescribing the credentials to be granted by a training organization which may vary according to the occupational training program;
(t.4) exempting an occupation from the application of this Act;
(t.5) prescribing minimum student support services to be offered by a training organization which may vary according to the type of training organization and minimum student protection policies to be established by a training organization;
(u) exempting an occupational training program from the application of this Act;
(v) respecting the minimum frequency of inspections under section 7;
(w) establishing the procedure to be followed with respect to the issuance of compliance orders;
(x) respecting requests for reviews of compliance orders;
(y) respecting reviews of compliance orders;
(z) respecting the establishment of administrative penalties, the calculation of administrative penalties and the amount of administrative penalties, including minimum and maximum amounts;
(aa) establishing the procedure to be followed with respect to the imposition of administrative penalties;
(bb) defining any word or expression used but not defined in this Act for the purposes of this Act, the regulations or both.
1969, c.20, s.11; 1996, c.71, s.14; 2001, c.23, s.7; 2016, c.28, s.173; 2024, c.21, s.18
Incorporation by reference
2024, c.21, s.19
11.1A regulation made under section 11 may incorporate by reference, in whole or in part, any laws, regulatory instruments, codes, standards, procedures or guidelines as they are amended from time to time before or after the making of a regulation or as they read at a fixed time and may require compliance with any law, regulatory instrument, code, standard, procedure or guideline so incorporated.
2024, c.21, s.19
Review of this Act
2024, c.21, s.19
11.2Every five years after the commencement of this section, the Minister shall undertake a comprehensive review of the operation of this Act.
2024, c.21, s.19
Application of Act
12The provisions and requirements of this Act and the regulations are in addition to all provisions and requirements made by or under any other general or special Act and no examination held or certificate or other document granted by virtue of this Act or the regulations shall in any way be deemed to be a compliance with the provisions or requirements made by or under any other general or special Act respecting examinations to be held or certificates or documents to be granted thereunder.
1969, c.20, s.12
Repealed
13Repealed: 1996, c.71, s.15
1969, c.20, s.13; 1996, c.71, s.15
N.B. This Act is consolidated to February 1, 2026.