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 In this Part,

access right

access right means a right, granted in an order or agreement, of access to or visitation of a child; (droit d’accès)

court

court means a court having jurisdiction with respect to the enforcement of family provisions; (tribunal)

custody provision

custody provision means a provision of an order or agreement awarding custody of a child; (disposition de garde)

family provision

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

information bank director

information bank director means

• (a) with respect to any of the information banks controlled by the Department of Employment and Social Development that may be searched under this Part, the Minister of Employment and Social Development,

• (b) with respect to any of the information banks controlled by the Canada Employment Insurance Commission that may be searched under this Part, the Chairman of the Canada Employment Insurance Commission, and

• (c) with respect to any of the information banks controlled by the Canada Revenue Agency that may be searched under this Part, the Minister of National Revenue; (directeur de fichier)

Minister

Minister means the Minister of Justice; (ministre)

order

order means any order or judgment, or interim order or judgment, relating to family support, custody or access that is enforceable in a province; (ordonnance)

provincial enforcement service

provincial enforcement service means any service, agency or body designated in an agreement with a province under section 3 that is entitled under the laws of the province to enforce family provisions; (autorité provinciale)

provincial information bank

provincial information bank means a source of information designated in an agreement made under section 3; (fichier provincial)

support provision

support provision means a provision of an order or agreement for maintenance, alimony or family financial support and includes any order for arrears of payments thereof. (disposition alimentaire)

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 of provincial enforcement services

5 The Minister and a province may designate in an agreement made under section 3 one or more provincial enforcement services for the purposes of 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 to Court

Marginal note:Applications to court

7 Any person, service, agency or body entitled to have a family provision enforced may, by ex parte application, request that the court apply for the release to the court of information under this Part.

Marginal note:Applications in relation to family provisions

• 8 (1) An application under section 7 in relation to a family provision must be accompanied by

  • (a) a certified copy of the order, or a copy of the agreement, containing the support provision, custody provision or access right to which the application relates;

  • (b) an affidavit in accordance with section 9; and

  • (c) subject to subsection (2), proof, as supplied by the province where the court seized of the application has jurisdiction, that the provincial information banks designated with respect to that province have been searched for information helpful in locating, as the case may be, the person who is in arrears under the support provision or the child or children who is or are the object of the custody provision or access right.

• Marginal note:Where proof not necessary

  (2) The proof referred to in paragraph (1)(c) is not necessary where the affidavit in support of the application discloses that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the person, child or children referred to in that paragraph has or have left the province of the court seized of the application.

Marginal note:Contents of affidavit

9 An affidavit in support of an application under section 7 in relation to a family provision must

• (a) allege a breach of the family provision;

• (b) set out particulars of the breach and identify the person who

  • (i) where the family provision is a support provision, is in arrears, or

  • (ii) where the family provision is a custody provision or access right, is believed to have possession of the child or children who is or are the object of the custody provision or access right;

• (c) disclose that reasonable steps have been taken to locate the person who is in arrears or the child or children who is or are the object of the custody provision or access right and that the person, child or children have not been located;

• (d) set out particulars of the reasonable steps referred to in paragraph (c); and

• (e) where the affidavit is not accompanied by the proof referred to in paragraph 8(1)(c), disclose that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the person, child or children referred to in paragraph (c) has or have left the province of the court seized of the application to which the affidavit relates and set out information in support of that belief.

10 and 11 [Repealed, 1993, c. 8, s. 7]

Marginal note:Court shall grant authorization

12 A court seized of a valid application under section 7 shall, if it is satisfied

• (a) that reasonable steps have been taken to locate the person, child or children to whom the application relates, and

• (b) where it is alleged that the person, child or children to whom the application relates has or have left the province of the court, that the allegation is based on reasonable grounds,

grant an authorization in writing authorizing any judge of that court or any officer thereof, as the case may be, to apply for the release of information under this Part.

Applications for the Release of Information

Marginal note:Applications for the release of information

13 Subject to this Part, the following, namely,

• (a) a judge of a court or any officer thereof, if authorized to do so under section 12,

• (b) a provincial enforcement service, or

• (c) a peace officer investigating a child abduction pursuant to section 282 or 283 of the Criminal Code,

may apply to the Minister, in the manner prescribed by the regulations, to have the information banks referred to in section 15 searched for the information referred to in section 16 and to have any such information found in those information banks released on a confidential basis.

Marginal note:Form of application

• 14 (1) An application under section 13 for the release of information must contain the information and be in the form prescribed by the regulations.

• Marginal note:Supporting documents

  (2) Where an application under section 13 is made by a person referred to in paragraph 13(a), the application must be accompanied by

  • (a) a copy of the family provision to which the application relates;

  • (b) the applicant’s authorization under section 12;

  • (c) a copy of the affidavit submitted in support of the application for the authorization; and

  • (d) where the applicant’s affidavit does not contain the allegation referred to in paragraph 9(e), proof, as supplied by the province where the court that granted the authorization has jurisdiction, that the provincial information banks designated with respect to that province have been searched for information helpful in locating the person, child or children to whom the application relates.

• Marginal note:Supporting documents for provincial enforcement service

  (3) Where an application under section 13 is made by a provincial enforcement service, the application must be accompanied by an affidavit submitted by an officer of the provincial enforcement service in accordance with subsection (4).

• Marginal note:Supporting documents for peace officer

  (3.1) Where an application under section 13 is made by a peace officer investigating a child abduction pursuant to section 282 or 283 of the Criminal Code, the application must be accompanied by

  • (a) a copy of the information to which the application relates; and

  • (b) an affidavit, submitted by the peace officer in accordance with subsection (5).

• Marginal note:Contents of affidavit

  (4) An affidavit submitted by an officer of a provincial enforcement service must

  • (a) allege a breach of the family provision;

  • (b) set out particulars of the breach and identify the person who

    • (i) where the family provision is a support provision, is in arrears, or

    • (ii) where the family provision is a custody provision or an access right, is believed to have possession of the child or children who is or are the object of the custody provision or access right;

  • (c) disclose that reasonable steps have been taken to locate the person who is in arrears or the child or children who is or are the object of the custody provision or access right and that the person, child or children has or have not been located;

  • (d) set out particulars of the reasonable steps referred to in paragraph (c); and

  • (e) disclose

    • (i) that the provincial information banks designated with respect to the province of the provincial enforcement service have been searched for information helpful in locating the person who is in arrears or the child or children who is or are the object of the custody provision or access right, or

    • (ii) that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the person, child or children referred to in subparagraph (i) has or have left the province of the provincial enforcement service, and set out information in support of that belief.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (5) An affidavit submitted by a peace officer must

  • (a) disclose that reasonable steps have been taken to locate the person against whom the information was laid and the child or children alleged to have been abducted and that the person, child or children has or have not been located;

  • (b) set out particulars of the reasonable steps referred to in paragraph (a); and

  • (c) disclose

    • (i) that the provincial information banks designated with respect to the province where the information was laid have been searched for information helpful in locating the person, child or children referred to in paragraph (a), or

    • (ii) that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the person, child or children referred to in paragraph (a) has or have left the province where the information was laid, and set out information in support of that belief.

Marginal note:Information banks that may be searched

15 The information banks that may be searched under this Part are the information banks designated by the regulations from among the information banks controlled by the Department of Employment and Social Development, the Canada Revenue Agency and the Canada Employment Insurance Commission.

Marginal note:Information that may be released

16 The information that may be searched for and released under this Part is

• (a) the address of the person who, as the case may be,

  • (i) is in arrears under the support provision to which the application relates,

  • (ii) is believed to have possession of the child or children who is or are the object of the custody provision or access right to which the application relates, or

  • (iii) is believed to have possession of the child or children who is or are the object of the investigation pursuant to section 282 or 283 of the Criminal Code to which the application relates;

• (b) the name and address of the employer of the person referred to in paragraph (a);

• (c) the address of the child or children to whom the application relates; and

• (d) the name and address of the employer of every child to whom the application relates.