An Edmonton shop and an unlicensed person working as a bodyman were each fined $2500 plus court costs of $500 for contempt of court when they ignored an order to comply with the Apprenticeship and Industry Training Act.

The auto body and auto service trades are compulsory trades. The only people who can do auto body or auto service work as defined by the Auto Body Technician Trade Regulation and the Automotive Service Technician Trade Regulation are licensed journeymen and apprentices. The regulations also mandate a one-to-one ratio of journeymen to apprentices.

Alberta Apprenticeship administers these acts. Traditionally they have focused on making sure that shops comply with the regulation. Indeed, Apprenticeship often goes out of their way to accommodate a shop and create a way for them to be in compliance. Court action is rare, because of Apprenticeship’s willingness to assist shops in compliance.

In this case, the shop ignored numerous opportunities to end their non-compliance. This court order indicates that shops that refuse to get into compliance can face serious consequences.

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