Divorce Act: 2007 Convention Provisions Start

Summary#

This order sets February 1, 2024 as the day certain parts 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 come into force. The brought-into-force parts put federal law in line with the 2007 Convention on the international recovery of child support and other family maintenance.

What it does#

• Fixes February 1, 2024 as the coming-into-force date for these specific parts of the amended Divorce Act: subsections 16(1) and 16(3), subsection 28(4), and sections 30 and 36.
• Brings into force the federal provisions that implement the 2007 Convention, including rules that let designated Central Authorities help with cross-border applications to establish, recognize, vary or enforce child and other family support orders.
• Aligns the federal timing with the date the 2007 Convention comes into force for Canada internationally.

Who's affected#

• Families, parents and caregivers involved in child or spousal support cases that cross international borders.
• Lawyers and family justice professionals who handle international support, recognition, or enforcement cases.
• Provinces that have passed laws to implement the Convention: British Columbia, Manitoba, and Ontario. The federal government is taking steps to initially extend the Convention to Manitoba and Ontario, so those provinces are most immediately involved.
• Central Authorities (the government offices that process international support requests) in provinces and territories where the Convention is applied.

Why it matters#

• It should make it easier to get a Canadian child or spousal support order recognized, enforced, established or varied in other countries that are parties to the 2007 Convention.
• The Convention is already in force in 45 States, including the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and the European Union, so more international pathways for support could become available for Canadian families.
• The change is meant to help more money for support reach children and families and to make cross-border family-support cases faster and clearer.