Regulations Amending the Release of Information for Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Regulations: SOR/2018-63

Canada Gazette, Part II: Volume 152, Number 8

Registration

March 27, 2018

FAMILY ORDERS AND AGREEMENTS ENFORCEMENT ASSISTANCE ACT

P.C. 2018-342 March 26, 2018

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Justice, pursuant to section 22 ^footnotea of the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act ^footnoteb, makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Release of Information for Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Regulations.

Regulations Amending the Release of Information for Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Regulations

Amendments

1 (1) Paragraph 3(a) of the Release of Information for Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Regulations ^footnote1 is replaced by the following:

• (a) information banks controlled by the Department of Employment and Social Development, namely,
  • (i) Canada Pension Plan Record of Earnings (ESDC/PPU-140),
  • (ii) Canada Pension Plan — Retirement, Disability, Survivors and Death Benefits (individuals) (ESDC/PPU-146),
  • (iii) International Social Security — Domestic and Foreign Benefits — Computer Master Benefit Data (ESDC/PPU-175), and
  • (iv) Employment Insurance Program Investigation (ESDC/PPU-171);

(2) Subparagraphs 3(b)(i) to (iii) of the Regulations are replaced by the following:

• (i) Record of Employment (Third Copy) (ESDC/PPU-171),
• (ii) Benefit and Overpayment File (ESDC/ PPU-180), and
• (iii) Social Insurance Number Register (ESDC/PPU-390);

(3) Paragraph 3(c) of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

• (c) information banks controlled by the Canada Revenue Agency, namely,
  • (i) Individual Returns and Payment Processing (CRA/PPU-005), and
  • (ii) Business Number and Program Account Registration (CRA/PPU-223).

Coming into Force

2 These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issues

The Release of Information for Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Regulations (the Regulations) designate eight information banks that may be searched under Part I of the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act (FOAEAA) to assist with the enforcement of family support obligations. Since these information banks are updated infrequently (usually once a year, or after a debtor has left employment), the address and the employer’s name and address information therein of a family support debtor may be outdated or inaccurate.

The designation of an additional information bank controlled by the Department of Employment and Social Development that is updated monthly would improve the ability of the Department of Justice to accurately locate the name and address of a family support debtor’s employer for the purposes of establishing effective wage-withholding.

The Regulations’ reference to non-existent departments and old information bank names may be confusing. Housekeeping amendments were needed to update the names of relevant departments and to update names and numbers of current federal information banks in order to ensure clarity.

Background

Enforcement of family support obligations is primarily a provincial and territorial responsibility. However, the federal government provides assistance to provinces and territories in their enforcement activities. For example, Part I of the FOAEAA provides for the search and release of the address and the employer’s name and address of individuals who are in default of their support obligations and cannot be located.

Although peace officers and court officials may also submit applications, virtually all FOAEAA Part I applications are submitted by provincial enforcement services. To effect a search, the provincial enforcement service must submit to the Minister of Justice (the Minister) an application and an affidavit. Under the FOAEAA, the Minister must then transmit a search request to the information bank directors. The information bank directors must return search results to the Minister, who then provides the provincial or enforcement service with the results (the address and the employer’s name and address, if found, of the person to be located).

Among the information banks designated by section 3 of the Regulations, three are controlled by the Department of Employment and Social Development, three are controlled by the Canada Employment Insurance Commission, and two are controlled by the Canada Revenue Agency.

Objectives

The objective of the amendments is to improve the effectiveness of the FOAEAA Part I family support debtor location scheme and maintain its relevancy with a view to supporting federal, provincial and territorial cooperation in the area of support enforcement. The amendments also include housekeeping amendments to update the names of relevant departments as well as the names and numbers of current information banks.

Description

Amendments to section 3 designate one additional information bank that can be searched to locate a debtor: the Employment Insurance Program Investigation (ESDC PPU 171), which contains information from the Automated Earnings Reporting System (AERS) and the Report on Hirings (ROH).

Housekeeping amendments to section 3 update the names of the Department of Human Resources Development and the Department of National Revenue to the Department of Employment and Social Development and the Canada Revenue Agency. The amendments to section 3 include the following changes to the Canada Revenue Agency information banks: substituting the Business Number and Program Account Registration information bank for the Information Returns (INFODEC) Data Bank; and substituting the Taxation Taxpayer Master File with the Individual Returns and Payment Processing. Both amendments were necessary to reflect a change in name and number. The Department of Employment and Social Development information bank, the Record of Employment (third copy), has been updated with a new number. No new information is being shared as a result of these technical changes.

“One-for-One” Rule

The “One-for-One” Rule does not apply to this proposal, as it does not impose any administrative burden on business.

Small business lens

The small business lens does not apply to this proposal, as it does not impose any burden on small business.

Consultation

The key stakeholders, namely the Department of Employment and Social Development and the provincial and territorial enforcement services, were consulted during the policy development process and are supportive of the amendments.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) was consulted on the amendment (to make the AERS and ROH information accessible for search by authorities seeking to trace persons with outstanding family support payments). The OPC undertook to provide further comments, if any, upon prepublication of the amendments in the Canada Gazette. No comments were received by the OPC.

Following publication of proposed amendments in the Canada Gazette, Part I, additional housekeeping amendments have been included, as proposed by federal departments, to update the list of information banks under section 3 of the Regulations. These amendments change information bank numbers and replace out-of-date information bank names to provide necessary updates to these information banks administered by the Canada Revenue Agency and the Department of Employment and Social Development. These additional changes are included in the description above.

Rationale

Designating the information bank which contains AERS and ROH information

Designating in the Regulations the Employment Insurance Program Investigation (ESDC PPU 171), i.e. the information bank which contains AERS and ROH information, improves the Department of Justice’s ability to successfully identify the employer name and address of a family support debtor. AERS and ROH information is updated more frequently than the information contained in information banks presently searched.

Employers participating in the AERS and ROH programs submit data, which is then matched to employment insurance claimant data by the Department of Employment and Social Development on a monthly basis. With access to AERS and ROH information, it is expected that the Department of Justice will be better equipped to assist provincial enforcement services implement successful and timely wage-withholding to collect funds for family support recipients. Successful and timely wage-withholding is also of benefit to support payors, as this measure serves to decrease the support debt owing and the risk of arrears accrual.

Updating the name of departments and current information banks

Updating the name of the relevant departments and the names and numbers of the current information banks adds clarity to the Regulations.

Implementation, enforcement and service standards

The Department of Justice Canada and the Department of Employment and Social Development will, in accordance with the Act and the Regulations, develop or modify, as appropriate, systems to facilitate FOAEAA Part I searches of the Employment Insurance Program Investigation (ESDC PPU 171), which contains AERS and ROH information. Modifications are not expected to be made to the FOAEAA Part I application process for the provincial enforcement services (they will continue to request and receive family support debtor addresses and employer name and addresses). The amendments do not alter existing service standards, where the Department of Justice Canada provides provincial and territorial enforcement services with a response within 10 days of receiving a FOAEAA Part I application.

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