Province Updates Legislation To Ensure Families Receive Support Payments

Released on November 23, 2021

Today, Government introduced changes to legislation that will help families who receive child support.

The changes make it easier to enforce support payments that have been withheld in bad faith and to file for child support across jurisdictions, within Canada and abroad. 

"Support payments are of critical financial importance to many Saskatchewan families," Justice Minister and Attorney General Gordon Wyant said. "By creating tough new enforcement measures for those trying to avoid their financial obligations and by eliminating some of the legal requirements for inter- jurisdictional filing, we can help ensure Saskatchewan families receive the support to which they are entitled." 

The Enforcement of Maintenance Orders Amendment Act, 2021 enables the use of enforcement procedures in cases when the payor is one month in arrears, has previously defaulted on payments, and has been acting in bad faith by maliciously withholding child support.

Enforcement procedures could include seizing pension entitlements, suspending driver's licenses, and seizing wages for payments. This provision is the first of its kind in Canada and specifically targets repetitive malicious conduct. It would not apply to cases in which external circumstances, such as illness or loss of employment, prevent someone from making support payments. 

The Inter-Jurisdictional Support Orders Amendment Act, 2021 will simplify the requirements to file support orders across provinces. This will speed up the process of filing for and enforcing support payments when one of the parties no longer resides in Saskatchewan.

The amendments remove the requirement to certify copies of support orders from outside the province before filing them in a Saskatchewan Court. Copies of support orders from Saskatchewan will also not need to be certified before they are filed in a court outside the province. These changes apply to reciprocating jurisdictions, which include all provinces and territories as well as countries such as Australia, Germany, China, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

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