Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Made Under the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act: SOR/2020-267

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 154, Number 26

Registration

SOR/2020-267 December 4, 2020

FAMILY ORDERS AND AGREEMENTS ENFORCEMENT ASSISTANCE ACT

P.C. 2020-986 December 4, 2020

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Justice, pursuant to paragraphs 22(a)^{footnote a}, 61(b)^{footnote b} and 78(b)^{footnote c} of the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act^{footnote d}, makes the annexed Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Made Under the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act.

Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Made Under the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act

Release of Information for Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Regulations

1 Schedule 1 to the Release of Information for Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Regulations^{footnote 1} is replaced by the Schedule 1 set out in Schedule 1 to these Regulations.

2 The reference to
Mother’s surname at her birth	10
Nom de famille de la mère à sa naissance

in Part 2 of the form in Schedule 1 to the Regulations is replaced by the following:
Surname at birth of each parent	10
Nom de famille à la naissance de chaque parent

Family Support Orders and Agreements Garnishment Regulations

3 Schedule 1 to the Family Support Orders and Agreements Garnishment Regulations^{footnote 2} is replaced by the Schedule 1 set out in Schedule 2 to these Regulations.

4 The reference to
Mother’s surname at her birth	11
Nom de famille de la mère à sa naissance

in Part 2 of the form in Schedule 1 to the Regulations is replaced by the following:
Surname at birth of each parent	11
Nom de famille à la naissance de chaque parent

Denial of Licences for Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Regulations

5 Subparagraph 2(a)(iv) of the Denial of Licences for Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Regulations^{footnote 3} is replaced by the following:

(iv) gender,

6 Schedule 1 to the Regulations is replaced by the Schedule 1 set out in Schedule 3 to these Regulations.

Coming into Force

7 (1) These Regulations, except sections 2 and 4, come into force on December 22, 2020, but if they are registered after that day, they come into force on the day on which they are registered.

(2) Sections 2 and 4 come into force on the day on which subsection 73(2) of An Act to amend the Divorce Act, the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act and the Garnishment, Attachment and Pension Diversion Act and to make consequential amendments to another Act, chapter 16 of the Statutes of Canada, 2019, comes into force.

SCHEDULE 1

(Section 1)

SCHEDULE 1

(Paragraph 4(1)(a))

	Department of Justice Canada	Ministère de la Justice Canada	Protected when received by the Department of Justice Protégé dès réception par le ministère de la Justice

T01

APPLICATION: RELEASE OF INFORMATION UNDER PART I OF THE FAMILY ORDERS AND AGREEMENTS ENFORCEMENT ASSISTANCE ACT

PART 1

APPLICANT IDENTIFICATION
Court, peace officer or provincial enforcement service name	01
Nom du tribunal, de l’agent de la paix ou de l’autorité provinciale

Application reference code no.	02
N° de code de la demande

Court, peace officer or provincial enforcement service reference no.	03
N° de référence du tribunal, de l’agent de la paix ou de l’autorité provinciale

PART 2

INFORMATION ON PERSON TO BE LOCATED

The name of the person to be located must correspond with the name on the affidavit in support of this application.

Surname	04
Nom de famille

First name	05
Prénom

Second name	06
Second prénom

Date of birth	07				08	Gender
Date de naissance		Year / Année	Month / Mois	Day / Jour		☐	Male
						☐	Female
						☐	Another gender
						☐	Information not available
						Genre
						☐	Masculin
						☐	Féminin
						☐	Autre genre
						☐	Information non disponible

Social Insurance Number	09
Numéro d’assurance sociale

Mother’s surname at her birth	10
Nom de famille de la mère à sa naissance

PART 3

REASON FOR APPLICATION
A - Person in default of the support provision	11	☐	A - Personne ne s’étant pas conformée à la disposition alimentaire

B - Person believed to have possession of the child or children in contravention of the custody provision	12	☐	B - Personne soupçonnée de détenir un enfant ou des enfants en violation de la disposition de garde

C - Person charged with an offence under section 282 or 283 of the Criminal Code	13	☐	C - Personne accusée d’une infraction aux articles 282 ou 283 du Code criminel

D - Missing child	14	☐	D - Enfant porté disparu

E - Person believed to have possession of a child or children in contravention of the access right	15	☐	E - Personne soupçonnée de détenir un enfant ou des enfants en violation du droit d’accès

PART 4

DOCUMENTS

All applications must be accompanied by the following documents:

a) where the application is made by an officer or judge of a court,
- (i) a copy of the family provision to which the application relates,
- ii) the court’s authorization obtained under section 12 of the Act, and
- (iii) a copy of the affidavit submitted in support of the application for the court’s authorization;
b) where the application is made by a provincial enforcement service, an affidavit in support of the application in accordance with subsection 14(4) of the Act;
c) where the application is made by a peace officer investigating a child abduction pursuant to section 282 or 283 of the Criminal Code,
- (i) a copy of the Criminal Code information, and
- (ii) an affidavit in support of the application in accordance with subsection 14(5) of the Act.

PART 5

DECLARATION

I declare that the information given in this application is true and is for the purpose of applying for the release of information to assist in locating a person in accordance with the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act.

		Y - A M D - J

Name of declarant (print) Nom de l’attestataire (en caractères d’imprimerie)	Signature of declarant Signature de l’attestataire	Date

JUS 527 (2013/06)

SCHEDULE 2

(Section 3)

SCHEDULE 1

(Section 5)

	Department of Justice Canada	Ministère de la Justice Canada	Protected when received by the Department of Justice Protégé dès réception par le ministère de la Justice

I01

APPLICATION: INTERCEPTION OF FEDERAL MONEYS UNDER PART II OF THE FAMILY ORDERS AND AGREEMENTS ENFORCEMENT ASSISTANCE ACT

PART 1

APPLICANT IDENTIFICATION
Court or provincial enforcement service name	01
Nom du tribunal ou de l’autorité provinciale

Application reference code no.	02
N° de code de la demande

Court or provincial enforcement service reference no.	03
N° de référence du tribunal ou de l’autorité provinciale

Garnishee summons issue date	04
Date du bref de saisie-arrêt		Year / Année	Month / Mois	Day / Jour

PART 2

DEBTOR / CREDITOR INFORMATION
Debtor / Débiteur
Surname	05
Nom de famille

First name	06
Prénom

Second name	07
Second prénom

Date of birth

Gender

Date de naissance

Year / Année

Month / Mois

Day / Jour

☐

Male

☐

Female

☐

Another gender

☐

Information not available

Genre

☐

Masculin

☐

Féminin

☐

Autre genre

☐

Information non disponible

Social Insurance Number

Numéro d’assurance sociale

Mother’s surname at her birth

Nom de famille de la mère à sa naissance

	Language of choice	12	☐				1 ENGLISH ANGLAIS		☐		2 FRENCH FRANÇAIS
	Langue préférée

Address

Adresse

City / Province

Ville / Province

Postal Code

Country

Code postal

Pays

Creditor / Créancier

Surname

Nom de famille

First name

Prénom

Second name

Second prénom

Date of birth	20
Date de naissance		Year / Année	Month / Mois	Day / Jour

PART 3

GARNISHEE SUMMONS FINANCIAL TERMS
Lump sum amount	21	$	,	.
Somme globale


Periodic payments	22	$	,	.
Paiements périodiques

Payment period code	23	☐	A	Weekly	E	Semi-annually
Paiements périodiques				Hebdomadaire		Semestriel
			B	Bi-weekly	F	Annually
				Aux deux semaines		Annuel
			C	Monthly	G	Semi-monthly
				Mensuel		Bimensuel
			D	Quarterly
				Trimestriel

Are periodic payments cumulative?	12	1 ☐	No Non	2 ☐	Yes Oui
Les paiements périodiques sont-ils cumulatifs?

Garnishment Options / Options visant la saisie-arrêt

25 Default holdbacks / Retenues par défaut

Amount or percentage you wish to be exempt from garnishment. / Montant ou pourcentage d’exonération de la saisie-arrêt que vous souhaitez obtenir.

☐

No holdback

Aucune retenue

☐

Percentage*

Pourcentage*

☐

Fixed amount*

Montant fixe*

26 Specific holdbacks per source of funds / Retenues spécifiques par source de fonds

Fill in A or B if you wish exemptions from garnishment to differ from default above, or C if you wish to have a set amount garnished per transaction.

Remplissez A ou B si vous souhaitez obtenir une exonération de saisie-arrêt pour différer les retenues par défaut mentionées ci-dessus, ou C si vous souhaitez établir un montant à saisir par transaction.

For A and B, indicate the amount or percentage you want exempted from garnishment. / Pour A et B, indiquez le montant ou le pourcentage d’exonération de la saisie-arrêt que vous souhaitez obtenir.

For C, indicate the specific amount to be garnished. / Pour C, indiquez le montant précis à saisir.

Percentage

Fixed Amount

Amount to garnish per transaction

Source department

Pourcentage

Montant fixe

Montant à saisir par transaction

Ministère payeur

PART 4

DOCUMENTS

This application must be accompanied by a garnishee summons.

PART 5

DECLARATION

I declare that the information given in this application is true and is for the purpose of applying for the interception of federal moneys in accordance with the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act.

		Y - A M D - J

Name of declarant (print) Nom de l’attestataire (en caractères d’imprimerie)	Signature of declarant Signature de l’attestataire	Date

JUS 578 (2013/06)

SCHEDULE 3

(Section 6)

SCHEDULE 1

(Section 2)

	Department of Justice Canada	Ministère de la Justice Canada	Protected when received by the Department of Justice Protégé dès réception par le ministère de la Justice

L01

APPLICATION: LICENCE DENIAL UNDER PART III OF THE FAMILY ORDERS AND AGREEMENTS ENFORCEMENT ASSISTANCE ACT

PART 1

APPLICANT IDENTIFICATION
Provincial enforcement service name	01
Nom de l’autorité provinciale

Application reference code no.

N° de code de la demande

Enforcement service reference no

N° de référence de l’autorité provinciale

Date notice sent to debtor	04
Date d’envoi de l’avis au débiteur		Year / Année	Month / Mois	Day / Jour

PART 2

DEBTOR INFORMATION
Surname	05
Nom de famille

First name	06
Prénom

Second name	07
Second prénom

Date of birth

Gender

Date de naissance

Year / Année

Month / Mois

Day / Jour

☐

Male

☐

Female

☐

Another gender

☐

Information not available

Genre

☐

Masculin

☐

Féminin

☐

Autre genre

☐

Information non disponible

Social Insurance Number

Numéro d’assurance sociale

Mother’s surname at her birth

Nom de famille de la mère à sa naissance

Height	12						►	Metric (M) or Imperial (I)
Taille		(if known / si elle est connue)				Métrique (M) ou impérial (I)

Colour of eyes	13
Couleur des yeux		(if known / si elle est connue)

City and country of birth	14
Ville et pays de naissance		City -Ville	(if known / si elle est connue)

	15
		Country -Pays	(if known / s’il est connu)

Language of choice	16	☐			1 ENGLISH ANGLAIS	☐	2 FRENCH FRANÇAIS
Langue préférée

Latest known address

Dernière adresse connue

City / Province

Ville / Province

Postal Code

Code postal

Country / Pays

Employer name

Nom de l’employeur

(if known/ si elle est connue)

Employer address

Adresse de l’employeur

City/Province

Ville/Province

Postal Code

Code postal

Country / Pays

PART 3

ORDER OR PROVISION IN DEFAULT

The debtor is in default of the following order or support provision:
Date of support order or provision	26
Date de l’ordonnance ou de la disposition alimentaire		Year / Année	Month / Mois	Day / Jour

Name of court

Nom du tribunal

Surname of parties

Nombre de paiements dus

VS. / C.

Number of payments in default

Nombre de paiements dus

Payment period code	31	A	Weekly	E	Semi-annually
Code de la période de paiement			Hebdomadaire		Semestriel
		B	Bi-weekly	F	Annually
			Aux deux semaines		Annuel
		C	Monthly	G	Semi-monthly
			Mensuel		Bimensuel
		D	Quarterly
			Trimestriel

Amount of arrears	32	$				,				.
Montant des arriérés

PART 4

DOCUMENTS

This application must be accompanied by a Licence Denial Affidavit (L02).

PART 5

DECLARATION

I declare that the information given in this application is true and is for the purpose of applying for licence denial in accordance with the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act.

		Y - A M D - J

Name of declarant (print) Nom de l’attestataire (en caractères d’imprimerie)	Signature of declarant Signature de l’attestataire	Date

JUS 342 (2013/06)

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issues

The regulations made under the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act (FOAEAA) were not aligned with the Government of Canada’s Policy Direction to Modernize the Government of Canada’s Sex and Gender Information Practices (Policy Direction).

Background

FOAEAA provides measures to assist the provinces and territories with their family support obligation enforcement activities. FOAEAA is divided into three Parts and regulations have been made under each Part.

1. Part I allows for the search and release of a person’s (such as a support debtor’s) home address and employer’s name and address from federal information banks designated by the Release of Information for Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Regulations. Although peace officers and court officials may also submit applications to locate individuals, generally all FOAEAA Part I applications are submitted by provincial enforcement services (PES). The information is intended to assist PES in locating family support debtors for the purposes of recovering arrears of family support obligations. To effect a search, a PES must submit to the Minister of Justice the application prescribed in the Release of Information for Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Regulations with a search request.
2. Under Part II, federal payments (such as Employment Insurance, Canada Pension Plan payments and Income Tax Refunds) designated under the Family Support Orders and Agreements Garnishment Regulations may be garnisheed to pay family support obligations. To effect garnishment, an applicant (such as a PES) must serve on the Minister of Justice the application prescribed in the Family Support Orders and Agreements Garnishment Regulations with a garnishment request.
3. Under Part III, the federal government can — at the request of a PES — suspend, deny or refuse to renew licences listed in the FOAEAA Schedule, including Canadian passports. A PES must submit the application prescribed in the Denial of Licences for Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Regulations with a licence denial request. Federal licence denial under this Part targets individuals who have failed to meet family support obligations for three payment periods or have accumulated arrears of at least $3,000.

Under the three FOAEAA regulations, the prescribed application forms collected information concerning the “sex” of the person to be located or the support debtor and offered only two options (“Male” and “Female”). It also collected the surname of the person’s mother at her birth. The collection of this information was for identification purposes and directly related to the FOAEAA operations, its ability to accurately identify support debtors and process the enforcement measure requested under each part of FOAEAA. The information collected was also used to inform mandatory gender-based analysis of federal government activities and for policy development. The collection of “sex” rather than “gender” information did not, however, fulfill a specific program requirement (for example, a requirement related to health).

Over a period of two years, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and the Department of Justice worked with 30 departments and agencies to develop a policy direction to modernize how the Government of Canada handles sex and gender information. In September 2018, the Government of Canada issued a government-wide policy direction that balances inclusive practices with program requirements. Federal departments were directed to review their information practices in alignment with the new Policy Direction to ensure that a clear rationale exists for the collection of sex or gender information. The federal government’s Policy Direction recommends that programs collect gender information by default (as opposed to sex information), and to collect sex information only where biological information is required. It also recommends that a third gender option (“another gender”) be offered in addition to female and male when requesting gender information.

Objective

The government-wide Policy Direction sets out the Government of Canada’s objectives of promoting and protecting gender equality, diversity and inclusion. The changes ensure that the regulations made under FOAEAA align with the objectives of the Policy Direction and that the FOAEAA application forms collect accurate, appropriate and relevant information about individuals for the purposes of the enforcement measures.

In addition, synchronizing the amendments to the three FOAEAA regulations ensures that the FOAEAA system collects identical information in the application forms set out in the regulations made under FOAEAA.

Description

The amendments to the three regulations made under FOAEAA require that applicants (such as a PES) indicate the gender of support debtors (persons who owe child and/or spousal support) or persons to be located rather than their sex, and the “Surname at birth of each parent” of the person. These amendments align the regulations with the Policy Direction, which recommends that gender information be collected by default and that sex information only be collected for programs or services where biological information is required.

In accordance with the Policy Direction, the FOAEAA application forms have also been revised to offer a third gender option (“another gender”). A fourth option (“information not available”) is also offered. Without a fourth option, applicants (such as a PES) that do not have a debtor’s gender information would be unable to apply under FOAEAA for help in enforcing a support obligation. Rather than simply denying access to the enforcement tool for the benefit of support recipients, a fourth option is added to allow for the FOAEAA application to proceed in cases where the other pieces of information are enough to correctly identify the debtor.

The three regulations are specifically amended as follows:

1. Release of Information for Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Regulations

The word “sex” was replaced by “gender” and two additional options “another gender” and “information not available” were added to item 08 of the application form set out in Schedule 1. The words “Mother’s surname at her birth” was replaced by “Surname at birth of each parent” at item 10 of the same form.

2. Family Support Orders and Agreements Garnishment Regulations

The word “sex” was replaced by “gender” and two additional options “another gender” and “information not available” were added to item 09 of the application form set out in Schedule 1. The words “Mother’s surname at her birth” was replaced by “Surname at birth of each parent” at item 11 of the same form.

3. Denial of Licences for Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Regulations

The word “sex” was replaced by “gender” in subparagraph 2(a)(iv). The word “sex” was replaced by “gender” and two options “another gender” and “information not available” were added to item 09 of the application form set out in Schedule 1. Through a separate regulatory change to the Denial of Licences for Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Regulations, the words “Mother’s surname at her birth” will be replaced by “Surname at birth of each parent” in subparagraph 2(a)(vi).

Regulatory development

Consultation

Federal partners, including the Social Insurance Number registry, Employment and Social Development Canada, Transport Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency, and PES whose systems must interact properly with the FOAEAA system and who are affected by the new application forms have been consulted prior to making the Regulations.

Modern treaty obligations and Indigenous engagement and consultation

There are no modern treaty obligations relevant to this proposal and there was no specific engagement or consultation with Indigenous peoples.

Instrument choice

A regulatory amendment was the only option considered. As regulations are law, they may only be changed by regulatory amendment. Without these regulatory amendments, the application forms prescribed in the regulations made under FOAEAA would continue to not align with the Policy Direction.

Regulatory analysis

Benefits and costs

There are costs associated with changes to the application forms and changes to the federal FOAEAA system to implement the regulatory amendments. These costs are minimal and can be absorbed by existing resources.

Provinces and territories were consulted and will be responsible for their implementation costs. The cost is not expected to be significant because the necessary work is expected to be minor (for example amending existing systems and forms) and will be done by existing personnel resources in the provinces and territories.

Small business lens

Analysis under the small business lens determined that the regulatory changes will not affect small businesses in Canada.

One-for-one rule

The one-for-one rule does not apply, as there is no incremental change in administrative burden on business.

Regulatory cooperation and alignment

To ensure that the amendments are operationalized properly, collaboration will continue through regular federal-provincial-territorial (FPT) conference calls and in-person meetings of the Maintenance Enforcement Program Directors Working Group, and the FPT FOAEAA System Working Group (which specifically discusses technical changes and enhancements to the FOAEAA system).

Strategic environmental assessment

In accordance with the Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals, a preliminary scan concluded that a strategic environmental assessment is not required.

Gender-based analysis plus (GBA+)

The distinction between sex and gender is very important for those who have a gender identity or lived experience that does not align with their sex at birth. Studies have shown that people who have identity documents that do not correspond with their lived gender are more likely to face discrimination and violence.

Various elements of information are required to ensure the correct debtor is identified, and gender information is an important piece of information for this purpose. The more information is missing, the less likely the debtor will be identified and the FOAEAA application will be rejected, to the detriment of support recipients.

The regulatory changes are expected to have an impact on transgender, non-binary and two-spirit individuals who do not identify exclusively as “female” or “male.” The inclusion of the options for gender is expected to provide an identifier that is inclusive of their gender identity, contributing to advancing equality between persons.

Furthermore, the regulatory changes will support the accurate collection of gender information to inform mandatory gender-based analysis of federal government activities and for policy development.

Rationale

Failure to amend the regulations made under FOAEAA would result in the regulations not being in alignment with the objectives of the Policy Direction and that relevant information about individuals for the purposes of the FOAEAA enforcement measures would not be collected accurately and appropriately.

Implementation, compliance and enforcement, and service standards

Collaboration is ongoing with the PT to ensure an effective and efficient implementation. In addition, collaboration is also taking place with federal departments that may be affected by the changes, including Transport Canada and Employment and Social Development Canada. These departments are aware of the changes and their implementation dates.

The Regulations come into force on December 22, 2020, with the exception of the following changes which are expected to come into force on November 12, 2021:

The replacement of “Mother’s surname at her birth” with “Surname at birth of each parent” (Release of Information for Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Regulations, Schedule 1, item 10; and Family Support Orders and Agreements Garnishment Regulations, Schedule 1, item 11).

Contact

Sylviane Deslauriers
Counsel
Family and Children’s Law Team
Family Law and Youth Justice Policy Section
Department of Justice Canada
Government of Canada
Email: commentsFOAEAA-GAPDA.commentairesLAEOEF-LSADP@justice.gc.ca