Nova Scotia. Department of Labour and Advanced Education

Other forms of name:
Nova Scotia. Department of Labour (1932)
Nova Scotia. Department of Labour and Manpower (1980)
Nova Scotia. Department of Environment and Labour (2000)

The Department of Labour was established in 1932 in response to the employment crisis provoked by the Great Depression. It was initially responsible for the Minimum Wage Board, employment services office, and supervisor of unemployment relief. Subsequently it acquired responsibility for occupational health and safety, industrial relations, labour standards, fire prevention and protection, labour research and pay equity. In 1934 a deputy minister of labour was authorized. In 1980 the department assumed responsibility for labour market programs and occupational training and its name was changed to Labour and Manpower. In 1985 responsibility for manpower and occupational training was transferred to the new Department of Human Resources Development and Training (later Advanced Education and Job Training) and Labour resumed its original name. In 2000 Labour was united with Environment to form the Department of Environment and Labour. In 2001 the Labour Department Act was repealed. In 2008 the Department of Labour and Manpower was restored as Labour and Workforce Development. In January 2011, the department was renamed Labour and Advanced Education, when responsibility for post-secondary education, formerly held by the Department of Education (now Education and Early Childhood Development), was transferred to it. At the same time, the department's responsibilities for liquor control, film licensing and classification, and amusements and gaming control were transferred to Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations. The department is responsible for labour services and labour standards, occupational health and safety, pension services, public safety, workers' adviser program, apprenticeship, workplace education, the Nova Scotia School for Adult Learning, labour market development, labour mobility and credential recognition, as well as post-secondary education. In 2014, the department's apprenticeship division was designated as a special operating agency, the Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency. In April 2015 the department assumed responsibility for the graduate opportunity program, strategic cooperative education initiative, student career skills development program, workplace innovation and productivity skills incentive, Nova Scotia research innovation trust, and funding related to the Brain Repair Centre from the former Department of Economic and Rural Development and Tourism.

Notes: Authority record based on Statutes of Nova Scotia: 1932 c. 3, 1934 c. 53, 1980 c. 22, 1986 c. 19, 2001 c. 4, 2008 c. 30; Orders in Council, 85-1303 (26 Nov. 1985), 2000-484 (28 Sept. 2000), 2011-15 (11 Jan. 2011), 2014-224 (24 June 2014), 2015-116 (9 Apr. 2015).

see also Department of Advanced Education and Job Training

see also Department of Education and Early Childhood Development

see also Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency