Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. 4 (2nd Supp.))

Short Title

Marginal note:Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act.

PART IRelease of Information

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

• 2 (1) In this Part,

  access provision

  access provision means a provision of an order providing for access to a child; (disposition prévoyant l’accès)

  access right

  access right[Repealed, 2019, c. 16, s. 43]

  central authority

  central authority means any person or entity that is acting as a central authority for the purposes of a convention prescribed by the regulations and that is designated in an agreement entered into with a province under section 3; (autorité centrale)

  contact provision

  contact provision means a provision in an order made under subsection 16.5(1) or (2) of the Divorce Act or a provision of a similar nature in an order made under provincial law; (disposition sur les contacts)

  court

  court[Repealed, 2019, c. 16, s. 43]

  custody provision

  custody provision means a provision of an order providing for custody of a child; (disposition de garde)

  designated authority

  designated authority means any person or entity that is responsible under the Divorce Act or a provincial Act for processing inter-jurisdictional support applications and that is designated in an agreement with a province entered into under section 3; (autorité désignée)

  family provision

  family provision means a support provision, a parenting provision, a contact provision, a custody provision or an access provision; (disposition familiale)

  information bank

  information bank means an information bank that is designated by the regulations; (fichier)

  information bank director

  information bank director means a person who is designated by the regulations as the information bank director for a given information bank; (directeur de fichier)

  Minister

  Minister means the Minister of Justice; (ministre)

  order

  order[Repealed, 2019, c. 16, s. 43])

  parenting provision

  parenting provision means a provision in an order made under subsection 16.1(1) or (2) of the Divorce Act or a provision of a similar nature in an order made under provincial law; (disposition parentale)

  provincial child support service

  provincial child support service means any entity that is designated in an agreement with a province entered into under section 3, and that calculates or recalculates the amount of child support; (service provincial des aliments pour enfants)

  provincial enforcement service

  provincial enforcement service means any entity that is entitled under the laws of a province to enforce family provisions and that is designated in an agreement with the province entered into under section 3; (autorité provinciale)

  provincial information bank

  provincial information bank[Repealed, 2019, c. 16, s. 43]

  support provision

  support provision means a provision of an order for maintenance, alimony or support. (disposition alimentaire)

• Marginal note:Definition of order

  (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), paragraphs 8(1)(b) and 9(1)(b) and subparagraphs 16(2)(a)(ii) and (b)(ii), unless a contrary intention appears, order means an order, judgment, decision or agreement — whether interim or final — that is enforceable in a province.

Federal-Provincial Agreements

Marginal note:Agreements with provinces for application of Part

3 With the approval of the Governor in Council, the Minister may, on behalf of the Government of Canada, enter into agreements with each of the provinces concerning the searching for and the release of information under this Part.

Marginal note:Contents of agreements

4 Every agreement with a province under section 3 must provide for

• (a) the establishment of safeguards in the province for the protection of information released under this Part.

• (b) [Repealed, 2019, c. 16, s. 44]

Marginal note:Designation

5 The Minister and a province may designate, in an agreement made under section 3, one or more provincial child support services, provincial enforcement services, designated authorities and central authorities for the purposes of this Part.

Marginal note:Agreement with police force

• 5.1 (1) The Minister may, on behalf of the Government of Canada, enter into an agreement with any police force in Canada for the search for and the release of information under this Part.

• Marginal note:Contents of agreement

  (2) The agreement must provide for the establishment of safeguards for the protection of information released under this Part.

Marginal note:Agreements regarding comprehensive pension plans

6 With the approval of the Governor in Council, the Minister of Employment and Social Development may, on behalf of the Government of Canada, enter into an agreement with each province providing a comprehensive pension plan, as defined under the Canada Pension Plan, for the purpose of obtaining the approval of that province for

• (a) the creation, for the purposes of this Act, of an information bank to be controlled by the Department of Employment and Social Development in respect of contributors to and beneficiaries under that comprehensive pension plan; and

• (b) the release of information under this Part from the information bank referred to in paragraph (a) and from any other information bank controlled by the Department of Employment and Social Development that contains information in respect of contributors to and beneficiaries under that comprehensive pension plan.

Applications for the Release of Information

General Provisions

Marginal note:Form of application

6.1 An application under this Part for the release of information must be in the form approved by the Minister and contain the information prescribed by the regulations.

Marginal note:Provincial enforcement service acting on behalf of other entities

6.2 For the purposes of this Part, a provincial enforcement service may act on behalf of a provincial child support service, designated authority or central authority.

Court

Marginal note:Application to court

7 Any person, body or service that is seeking to have a support provision established or varied or that is entitled to have a family provision enforced may, on application, which may be made ex parte, request that a court authorize an official of the court to make an application under section 12.

Marginal note:Contents of application — establishment or variation of support provision

• 8 (1) The application under section 7 in relation to the establishment or variation of a support provision must be accompanied by

  • (a) an affidavit that sets out the reasons for the making of the application; and

  • (b) in the case of an application in relation to the variation of a support provision, a copy of the order that contains the support provision.

• Marginal note:Ex parte application

  (2) If the application is made ex parte, the affidavit referred to in paragraph (1)(a) must also

  • (a) state that reasonable steps have been taken to locate the person in respect of whom the applicant is seeking to have a support provision established or varied and that the person has not been located; and

  • (b) set out the particulars of those reasonable steps.

• Marginal note:Ex parte application by individual

  (3) If the application is made ex parte by an individual,

  • (a) the application must also be accompanied by the results of a recent criminal record check in respect of the applicant and copies of the documents referred to in subparagraph (b)(ii), if any; and

  • (b) the affidavit referred to in paragraph (1)(a) must also

    • (i) state that the sole purpose of the application is to obtain information for the establishment or variation of a support provision,

    • (ii) state whether or not there is a court order, agreement, undertaking or recognizance or any other document that is of a similar nature that restricts the applicant’s communication or contact with the person referred to in paragraph 2(a), or with the child or children that is, are or may be the subject of the support provision, or there is a proceeding respecting such a restriction,

    • (iii) state whether or not the applicant has caused or has attempted to cause physical harm to the person, child or children or has caused them to fear for their safety or security or that of another person, and

    • (iv) state whether or not the applicant has been charged with or found guilty of an offence against the person, child or children.

Marginal note:Contents of application — enforcement of family provision

• 9 (1) The application under section 7 in relation to the enforcement of a family provision must be accompanied by

  • (a) an affidavit that

    • (i) sets out the reasons for the making of the application,

    • (ii) alleges a breach of the family provision, and

    • (iii) sets out particulars of the breach and identifies the person who

      • (A) if the family provision is a support provision, is in arrears, or

      • (B) if the family provision is a parenting provision, contact provision, custody provision or access provision, is believed to have with them the child or children who is or are the subject of the provision; and

  • (b) a copy of the order containing the family provision.

• Marginal note:Ex parte application

  (2) If the application is made ex parte, the affidavit referred to in paragraph (1)(a) must also

  • (a) state that reasonable steps have been taken to locate the person, child or children referred to in subparagraph (1)(a)(iii) and that the person, child or children has or have not been located; and

  • (b) set out the particulars of those reasonable steps.

• Marginal note:Ex parte application by individual

  (3) If the application is made ex parte by an individual,

  • (a) the application must also be accompanied by the results of a recent criminal record check in respect of the applicant and copies of the documents referred to in subparagraph (b)(ii), if any; and

  • (b) the affidavit referred to in paragraph (1)(a) must also

    • (i) state that the sole purpose of the application is to obtain information to enforce the family provision,

    • (ii) state whether or not there is a court order, agreement, undertaking or recognizance or any other document that is of a similar nature that restricts the applicant’s communication or contact with the person, child or children referred to in subparagraph (1)(a)(iii), or there is a proceeding respecting such a restriction,

    • (iii) state whether or not the applicant has caused or has attempted to cause physical harm to the person, child or children or has caused them to fear for their safety or security or that of another person, and

    • (iv) state whether or not the applicant has been charged with or found guilty of an offence against the person, child or children.

Marginal note:Authorization

10 A court seized of a valid application under section 7 may make an order in writing authorizing an official of the court to make an application under section 12, if the court is satisfied

• (a) that the sole purpose of the application is to obtain information for the establishment or variation of a support provision or the enforcement of a family provision;

• (b) that the order is not likely to jeopardize the safety or security of any person; and

• (c) in the case of an ex parte application, that the steps referred to in paragraph 8(2)(a) or paragraph 9(2)(a), as the case may be, have been taken.