Licence Denial for Family Support Orders

Summary#

The Denial of Licences for Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Regulations, 2021 are final rules that set out the information provinces must send when they ask the federal government to deny a licence to someone under the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act. The instrument was registered on December 4, 2020 and published in the Canada Gazette on December 23, 2020.

What it does#

• Defines that “Act” in these regulations means the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act.
• Specifies what must be included in a licence‑denial application sent by a provincial enforcement service. Required information includes:
  • the name and reference number of the provincial enforcement service and the date the debtor was notified;
  • a declaration that the application information is correct and is being submitted for licence denial;
  • details about the debtor, such as surname and given names; last known address; phone and email if known; date of birth; gender; social insurance number if known; parents’ surnames at birth if known; city and country of birth if known; height and eye colour if known; employer name and address if known; and language of correspondence if known;
  • details about the support order, including the court that issued it; the date it was issued; the parties named in the order; the amount in arrears or the payment periods in default; and the required payment frequency (for example, weekly, monthly, yearly).
• Says how applications and related requests must be sent: by mail to Department of Justice, Family Law Assistance Services, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H8, or by an agreed electronic method between the province and the Minister.
• Repeals the earlier Denial of Licences for Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Regulations (previously SOR/97-180).
• States when the regulations come into force: they take effect on the day that 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 comes into force; if these regulations are registered after that day, they come into force on the day of their registration.

Who's affected#

• Provincial enforcement services — they must include the specified information when asking the federal government to deny licences.
• People who owe family support (referred to here as debtors) — their personal and support-order details are the focus of the information provinces must provide.
• Department of Justice staff who receive and process these applications.
• Courts and others who issue or enforce support orders may be indirectly affected because the regulation standardizes what information is passed to the federal level.

If it is unclear who else might be affected (for example, which specific federal licences are subject to denial under the Act), the regulation text does not list those licences.

Why it matters#

• The rules create a standard checklist of personal and order details provinces must send. That helps the federal government identify people who are subject to licence denial requests.
• Standardized information can speed up processing and reduce errors when enforcement action is requested.
• For people who owe support, this may make it more likely that a licence denial request will be accepted and acted on — which can affect travel, driving, or other activities that depend on federal licences (the regulation itself does not list which licences).