BILL 45

An Act to Amend the Opportunities New Brunswick Act

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, enacts as follows:

1 Section 15 of the Opportunities New Brunswick Act, chapter 2 of the Acts of New Brunswick, 2015, is amended

(a)  in subsection (4) by adding “or delegated to” after “conferred on”;

(b)  by adding after subsection (4) the following:

15( 4.1) By by-law, the Board may delegate to the Chief Executive Officer any of the powers of Opportunities NB that relate to its financial assistance activities under this Act or any of the powers of Opportunities NB that the Board considers to be necessary for carrying out those financial assistance activities, including, but not limited to, the powers under paragraph 5(a), (b) or (c) or section 24 or 26.

2 Subsection 23(2) of the French version of the Act is repealed and the following is substituted:

23( 2) S’il approuve l’octroi d’une aide financière, le lieutenant-gouverneur en conseil peut exiger d’Opportunités N.-B. qu’elle assortisse l’octroi de modalités et de conditions qu’il fixe.

3 Section 24 of the Act is amended

(a)  by repealing subsection (1) and substituting the following:

24( 1) Subject to subsection (1.1), Opportunities NB may take any security that it considers appropriate for any financial assistance provided under this Act and may enforce the security in accordance with its terms or release the security on terms and conditions that Opportunities NB specifies.

(b)  by adding after subsection (1) the following:

24( 1.1) Opportunities NB shall not take or release any security of a person under subsection (1) without the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council if at the time of the release the sum of the following exceeds the amount prescribed by regulation:

(a)  any financial assistance sought by the person;

(b)  all financial assistance previously provided to the person and not repaid; and

(c)  all financial assistance that Opportunities NB has decided to provide to the person but has not yet provided.

24( 1.2) Despite subsection (1.1), Opportunities NB may release any security on any terms and conditions it specifies if it considers that the release does not substantially impact the financial risk of the Province.

4 Subsection 26(2) of the French version of the Act is repealed and the following is substituted:

26( 2) Si la somme du capital et des intérêts excède le plafond réglementaire, l’approbation du lieutenant-gouverneur en conseil s’avère nécessaire pour permettre à Opportunités N.-B. de la convertir, de l’annuler ou d’y renoncer.

5 Section 33 of the Act is amended by adding after paragraph (d) the following:

(d.1)  prescribing an amount for the purposes of subsection 24(1.1);

Regulation under the Opportunities New Brunswick Act

6 New Brunswick Regulation 2015-7 under the Opportunities New Brunswick Act is amended by adding after section 7 the following:

Taking of security

7.1 The prescribed amount for the purpose of subsection 24(1.1) of the Act is $2,000,000.

7 This Act shall be deemed to have come into force on April 1, 2015.