BILL 43

An Act to Amend the Post-Secondary Student Financial Assistance Act

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

1 Section 1 of the Post-Secondary Student Financial Assistance Act, chapter P-9.315 of the Acts of New Brunswick, 2007, is amended

(a)  by repealing the definition “designated educational institution” and substituting the following:

“designated educational institution” means (établissement d’enseignement agréé)

(a)  for the purposes of financial assistance other than a tuition bursary, an educational institution within or outside New Brunswick that offers courses at a post-secondary level and that is designated by the Minister under section 2 as a designated educational institution, or

(b)  for the purposes of a tuition bursary, an educational institution within New Brunswick that offers courses at a post-secondary level, is designated by the Minister under section 2 as a designated educational institution and is prescribed by regulation.

(b)  in the definition “financial assistance”

( i) in paragraph (a) of the English version by striking out “or” at the end of the paragraph;

( ii) in paragraph (b) by striking out “section 17.” and substituting “paragraph 17(1)(b); or”;

( iii) by adding after paragraph (b) the following:

(c)  a tuition bursary awarded by the Minister to a qualifying student under paragraph 17(1)(c).

(c)  in paragraph (d) of the definition “qualifying student” by striking out “a certificate of eligibility” and substituting “financial assistance”;

(d)  in the definition “financial assistance program” by striking out “section 17” and substituting “paragraphs 17(1)(b) and (c)”.

2 Section 17 of the Act is amended

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

17( 1) On application by a qualifying student, the Minister may

(a)  issue a certificate of eligibility to the qualifying student, which certificate of eligibility enables the qualifying student to obtain a direct loan in the amount specified in the certificate,

(b)  award a bursary other than a tuition bursary, or

(c)  award a tuition bursary.

(b)  by repealing subsection (2);

(c)  by repealing subsection (3) and substituting the following:

17( 3) The Minister shall refuse to issue a certificate of eligibility or award a bursary under paragraph (1)(c) to a qualifying student if the qualifying student has a history of credit abuse and shall inform the qualifying student that this is the basis for refusing to issue the certificate of eligibility or award the bursary.

(d)  in paragraph (4)(b) by adding “under paragraph (1)(b) or (c)” after “bursary”;

(e)  in paragraph (5)(b) by adding “under paragraph (1)(b) or (c)” after “bursary”;

(f)  in subsection (6) by adding “under paragraph (1)(b) or (c)” after “bursary”;

(g)  in subsection (7) by adding “under paragraph (1)(b) or (c)” after “bursary”.

3 Section 19 of the Act is amended by repealing the portion preceding paragraph (a) and substituting the following:

19 An application under subsection 17(1) or section 18 shall

4 Subsection 20(1) of the Act is repealed and the following is substituted:

20( 1) The Minister shall, in accordance with the policies and procedures established by the Minister and subject to any maximums prescribed by regulation, determine

(a)  the amount to be specified in a certificate of eligibility, and

(b)  the amount of a bursary to be awarded under paragraph 17(1)(b) or (c).

5 Section 28 of the Act is amended

(a)  in subsection (1)

( i) in the portion preceding paragraph (a) by striking out “for a certificate”;

( ii) in paragraph (a) of the English version by striking out “or” at the end of the paragraph;

( iii) by adding after paragraph (a) the following:

(a.1)  the Minister refuses to award a tuition bursary to the qualifying student, or

(b)  in paragraph (2)(a) by striking out “certificate of eligibility” and substituting “financial assistance”.

6 Section 33 of the Act is amended

(a)  by renumbering the section as subsection 33(1);

(b)  in paragraph (i) by striking out “section 17” and substituting “paragraph 17(1)(b) or (c)”;

(c)  by adding after paragraph (i) the following:

(i.1)  prescribing the maximum number of years the Minister may award a tuition bursary under paragraph 17(1)(c);

(i.2)  authorizing the Minister to determine the programs of study for which a qualifying student may be qualified for enrolment, or may be enrolled, in order to be eligible for a tuition bursary;

(i.3)  prescribing the designated educational institutions at which a qualifying student may be qualified for enrolment, or may be enrolled, in order to be eligible for a tuition bursary;

(d)  in paragraph (m) by striking out “for certificates of eligibility under subsection 17(1) and for payments to reduce student debt under section 18” and substituting “under subsection 17(1) and section 18”;

(e)  by repealing paragraph o) of the French version and substituting the following:

(o)  définissant tout mot ou toute expression employés mais non définis dans la présente loi aux fins d’application de la présente loi ou de ses règlements, ou des deux;

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

33( 2) A regulation made under paragraphs (1)(f), (i), (i.1), (i.2), (i.3) and (m) may be retroactive in its operation to May 1, 2016, or to any date after May 1, 2016.

7 This Act or any provision of it shall be deemed to have come into force on May 1, 2016.