Family Responsibility and Support Arrears Enforcement Act, 1996, S.O. 1996, c. 31

• Jurisdiction: Ontario

Family Responsibility and Support Arrears Enforcement Act, 1996

S.O. 1996, CHAPTER 31

Consolidation Period: From June 8, 2023 to the e-Laws currency date.

Last amendment: 2023, c. 9, Sched. 16, s. 25.

CONTENTS

Part I
Interpretation

Interpretation

Definitions

1 (1) In this Act,

Note: On a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor, subsection 1 (1) of the Act is amended by adding the following definition: (See: 2023, c. 9, Sched. 16, s. 25 (1))

“contracting state” means a Contracting State within the meaning of the International Recovery of Child Support and Family Maintenance Convention Act, 2023; (“État contractant”)

“Director” means the Director of the Family Responsibility Office; (“directeur”)

“income source” means an individual, corporation or other entity that owes or makes any payment, whether periodically or in a lump sum, to or on behalf of a payor of,

(a) wages, wage supplements or salary, or draws or advances on them,

(b) a commission, bonus, piece-work allowance or similar payment,

(c) a payment made under a contract for service,

(d) a benefit under an accident, disability or sickness plan,

(e) a disability, retirement or other pension,

(f) an annuity,

(g) vacation pay, termination pay and severance pay,

(h) an employee loan,

(i) a shareholder loan or dividends on shares, if the corporation that issued the shares is effectively controlled by the payor or the payor and the payor’s parent, spouse, child or other relative or a body corporate which the payor and his or her parent, spouse, child or other relative effectively control, directly or indirectly,

(j) refunds under the Income Tax Act (Canada),

(k) lump sum payments under the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act (Canada),

(l) income of a type described in the regulations; (“source de revenu”)

“payor” means a person who is required to pay support under a support order; (“payeur”)

“provisional order” means an order that has no effect until it is confirmed by another court and includes orders made under sections 7 and 30 of the Interjurisdictional Support Orders Act, 2002 and section 44 of the Family Law Act; (“ordonnance conditionnelle”)

“recipient” means a person entitled to support under a support order or the parent, other than the payor, of a child entitled to support under a support order; (“bénéficiaire”)

“reciprocating jurisdiction” has the same meaning as in the Interjurisdictional Support Orders Act, 2002; (“autorité pratiquant la réciprocité”)

“regulations” means the regulations made under this Act; (“règlements”)

“spouse” means,

(a) a spouse as defined in section 1 of the Family Law Act, or

(b) either of two persons who live together in a conjugal relationship outside marriage; (“conjoint”)

“support deduction order” means a support deduction order made or deemed to have been made under this Act or its predecessor; (“ordonnance de retenue des aliments”)

“support order” means a provision in an order made in or outside Ontario and enforceable in Ontario for the payment of money as support or maintenance, and includes a provision for,

(a) the payment of an amount periodically, whether annually or otherwise and whether for an indefinite or limited period, or until the happening of a specified event,

(b) a lump sum to be paid or held in trust,

(c) payment of support or maintenance in respect of a period before the date of the order,

(d) payment to an agency of an amount in reimbursement for a benefit or assistance provided to a party under a statute, including a benefit or assistance provided before the date of the order,

(e) payment of expenses in respect of a child’s prenatal care and birth,

(e.1) payment of expenses in respect of DNA testing to establish parentage,

(f) the irrevocable designation, by a spouse who has a policy of life insurance or an interest in a benefit plan, of the other spouse or a child as the beneficiary, or

(g) interest or the payment of legal fees or other expenses arising in relation to support or maintenance,

and includes such a provision in,

(h) a domestic contract that is enforceable under section 35 of the Family Law Act, or

(i) a notice of calculation that is enforceable under section 39 of the Family Law Act. (“ordonnance alimentaire”) 1996, c. 31, s. 1 (1); 1999, c. 6, s. 26; 2002, c. 13, s. 57 (1); 2005, c. 5, s. 28; 2005, c. 16, s. 1; 2014, c. 7, Sched. 10, s. 1 (1); 2016, c. 23, s. 48; 2020, c. 25, Sched. 1, s. 29 (1); 2021, c. 4, Sched. 11, s. 10.

Interpretation – income source

(2) An individual, corporation or other entity continues to be an income source despite temporary interruptions in the payments owed to a payor. 1996, c. 31, s. 1 (2).

Same – related orders

(3) A support deduction order is related to the support order on which it is based and a support order is related to the support deduction order that is based on it. 1996, c. 31, s. 1 (3).

Same — recalculated child support

(4) A reference in this Act to a support order that is changed includes reference to a support order that is subject to a recalculation under section 39.1 of the Family Law Act. 2014, c. 7, Sched. 10, s. 1 (2).

Section Amendments with date in force (d/m/y)

1999, c. 6, s. 26 (1-3) - 01/03/2000

2002, c. 13, s. 57 (1) - 31/03/2003

2005, c. 5, s. 28 (1-4) - 09/03/2005; 2005, c. 16, s. 1 (1, 2) - 13/06/2005

2014, c. 7, Sched. 10, s. 1 (1, 2) - 04/04/2016

2016, c. 23, s. 48 - 05/12/2016

2020, c. 25, Sched. 1, s. 29 (1) - 01/03/2021

2021, c. 4, Sched. 11, s. 10 (1, 2) - 19/04/2021

2023, c. 9, Sched. 16, s. 25 (1) - not in force

Part II
Director of the Family Responsibility Office

Director of Family Responsibility Office

2 There shall be a Director of the Family Responsibility Office who shall be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council. 1996, c. 31, s. 2.

Delegation

3 (1) The Director may, in writing, authorize a person or class of persons employed in the Director’s office to exercise any of the powers or perform any of the duties of the Director. 2009, c. 33, Sched. 8, s. 2 (1).

Decisions

(2) A decision made by a person exercising the Director’s powers or performing the Director’s duties under subsection (1) shall be deemed to be a decision of the Director. 2009, c. 33, Sched. 8, s. 2 (1).

Section Amendments with date in force (d/m/y)

2009, c. 33, Sched. 8, s. 2 (1) - 15/12/2009

Assignment of Director’s powers, etc.

4 (1) The Minister responsible for the administration of this Act may, subject to the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, assign to any person, agency or body, or class thereof, any of the powers, duties or functions of the Director under this Act, subject to the limitations, conditions and requirements set out in the assignment. 1996, c. 31, s. 4 (1); 2014, c. 7, Sched. 10, s. 2.

Same

(2) An assignment may include powers, duties or functions that are not purely administrative in nature, including statutory powers of decision and discretionary powers given to the Director under this Act, and may provide that an assignee may be a party in any action or proceeding instead of the Director. 1996, c. 31, s. 4 (2).

Fees, etc.

(3) An assignment may, subject to any regulation made under clause 63 (1), set out the fees, costs, disbursements, surcharges and other charges that the assignee may charge to the payor, or a method for determining them, how and when they may be collected, and may exempt the assignee from clause 22 (a) of the Collection and Debt Settlement Services Act. 1996, c. 31, s. 4 (3); 2013, c. 13, Sched. 1, s. 13.

Same

(4) An assignee may charge fees, costs, disbursements, surcharges and other charges as set out in the assignment and such fees, costs, disbursements, surcharges and other charges may,

(a) be in respect of services for which the Director may not charge anything;

(b) be higher than a fee, cost, disbursement, surcharge or other charge that the Director is permitted to charge for the same service; and

(c) be applied in a manner other than that provided in section 57. 1996, c. 31, s. 4 (4).

Same

(5) Any fees, costs, disbursements, surcharges or other charges charged by an assignee must be charged to the payor and may be added to the amount of arrears owing by the payor and may be collected in like manner as arrears. 1996, c. 31, s. 4 (5).

Interest

(6) For the purposes of subsections (3), (4) and (5),

“other charges” includes interest at a rate prescribed by regulation. 1996, c. 31, s. 4 (6).

Use of information restricted

(7) An assignee shall not use or disclose the information it has collected in carrying out any power, duty or function assigned to the assignee under subsection (1) except for the purposes of this Act. 1996, c. 31, s. 4 (7).

Section Amendments with date in force (d/m/y)

2013, c. 13, Sched. 1, s. 13 - 01/01/2015

2014, c. 7, Sched. 10, s. 2 - 24/07/2014

Duty of Director

5 (1) It is the duty of the Director to enforce support orders where the support order and the related support deduction order, if any, are filed in the Director’s office and to pay the amounts collected to the person to whom they are owed. 1996, c. 31, s. 5 (1).

Transition

(2) Subject to subsection (4), a support order or support deduction order that is filed in the office of the Director of the Family Support Plan immediately before the day this section comes into force shall be deemed to be filed in the Director’s office on the day this section comes into force. 1996, c. 31, s. 5 (2).

Same

(3) If a support deduction order is filed in the office of the Director of the Family Support Plan immediately before the day this section comes into force and the related support order was never filed in his or her office before that day, it is the duty of the Director to enforce the support deduction order so long as it is filed in the Director’s office. 1996, c. 31, s. 5 (3).

Same

(4) If a support deduction order is filed in the...