Original Enactment (1986): FOAEAA was enacted in 1986 (came into force in 1987) as a federal enforcement assistance statute. Part I, from the outset, enabled provincial support enforcement services to obtain location information for individuals in default of family support obligations, by searching certain federal databases (e.g. tax and employment records). The original goal was narrow: to help find delinquent support payors or parents who disappeared with children, by providing addresses or employer information that provincial agencies could not otherwise access. The information available under the 1987 regime was strictly limited (address of the person or their employer), and only certain entities (maintenance enforcement programs, courts, and law enforcement in child abduction cases) could use it.
Key Amendments Pre-2019: Over time, Part I was tweaked but remained focused on enforcement. Mid-1990s amendments expanded Part I to cover custody/access enforcement: provinces could request info to locate a child or a parent breaching a custody or access order. By the 2000s, Part I thus addressed both support and access enforcement. However, even after these changes, Part I could only be invoked to enforce an existing support or custody/access order, not to help establish a new one. Also, financial information release was minimal (no tax return details; only addresses/employer info, and SIN in limited cases) under the old regulations.
Bill C-78 (S.C. 2019, c. 16): In 2019, Parliament passed broad family law reforms via Bill C-78, titled An Act to amend the Divorce Act, the FOAEAA and the Garnishment, Attachment and Pension Diversion Act, which included substantial FOAEAA Part I amendments. The amendments (sections 42–49 of S.C. 2019, c. 16) were designed to align with Divorce Act changes (e.g. replacing “custody/access” with “parenting” terminology) and enhance support enforcement tools. Key changes in the Act:
- Expanded Purpose: Part I’s purpose was broadened to assist in establishing or varying support orders (not just enforcing them) when a party’s location or financial information is lacking. New language in s.7 FOAEAA allows applications by anyone “seeking to have a support provision established or varied”. This is a fundamental shift, enabling proactive information gathering for pending support cases (e.g. to find a respondent or determine their income).
- New Applicant Categories: The amendments added “provincial child support services” (administrative recalculation programs) and “central authorities” (for international family maintenance conventions) as entities that can request information (new ss.15.1 and 16.1 FOAEAA). This recognises provincial/territorial initiatives to administratively adjust support and Canada’s commitments under international support enforcement treaties.
- Wider Information Scope: The Act empowered release of taxpayer information by adding new regulation-making powers (e.g. FOAEAA s.22(1)(d.1) allows regulations prescribing information that may be released, varying by applicant). It contemplated that CRA income data could be shared (with Finance Minister’s consent) for support enforcement, hence the requirement in s.22(2) that any regulations on releasing taxpayer information need the Finance Minister’s concurrence.
- Streamlined Process: Requirements that had proven burdensome were removed: e.g., affidavits from provincial enforcement services (previously mandatory) were eliminated, and the Act (new s.6.1) did away with prescribed forms in favour of a form approved by the Minister containing info set out in regulations. Also, a new s.6.2 explicitly allows a provincial enforcement program to act on behalf of a child support service, ISO authority, or central authority in making requests.
- Privacy and Notice: The amendments retained and extended privacy safeguards. The notice to the target person requirement (s.12.1) was introduced for ex parte applications by individuals, coupled with the court’s power to order “no notice” (s.11) in appropriate cases. The continued necessity of federal-provincial information-sharing agreements (MOUs) was reaffirmed: s.20 FOAEAA now explicitly conditions release to any provincial entity on having an agreement in place with privacy safeguards.
In-Force Dates: Implementation of these 2019 amendments was staggered over four years (2019–2023) via Orders in Council:
- June 21, 2019: Upon Royal Assent, a few provisions came into effect immediately (e.g. the FOAEAA long title change and minor coordinating amendments). Most substantive changes were delayed.
- March 1, 2021: This was the principal Divorce Act reform date. An Order in Council (P.C. 2020-983) brought into force a large block of FOAEAA amendments effective March 1, 2021. These included the terminology updates (replacing “custody/access” with “parenting/contact”) and some new sections supporting inter-jurisdictional cases.
- Late 2021: Another Order in Council (P.C. 2021-1031) took effect Nov 12, 2021, but was mostly related to FOAEAA Part III (e.g. section 22.1 on license denial research, and some GAPDA sections). This did not directly impact the Release of Information regime, except enabling a research provision (FOAEAA s.78.2 on data sharing for research).
- November 15, 2023: This is the critical date when the remaining Part I amendments came into force (per SI/2023-19, Order in Council P.C. 2023-555). In force on that day were FOAEAA sections 43, 45, 46, 48, and 49(1),(3),(5)-(7) of the 2019 Act, which correspond to the bulk of the Part I changes. Notably, section 46 of the 2019 Act was a sweeping replacement of FOAEAA sections 6.1 through 16.1 (rewriting the Part I application process). Bringing these into force required that the new Regulations also be ready, which they were by mid-2023. The Canada Gazette published SOR/2023-125 on June 21, 2023, with its coming-into-force tied to “the day on which subsection 49(1) of [the 2019 Act] comes into force”, and subsection 49(1) was indeed brought in on Nov 15, 2023. Thus, on that date, new Part I and new Regulations simultaneously took effect across Canada.
- November 15, 2024: One final milestone occurred a year later. Certain regulatory provisions were delayed until Nov 15, 2024 to allow phased implementation. Specifically, the more sensitive financial information items (most of the list of tax slips in Reg. 5(1)(c), the corporate tax info in 5(1)(d), etc.) and some related provisions only became available after a 12-month period. The rationale was to give federal and provincial authorities time to update Memoranda of Agreement and technical systems to handle the larger data set. From that date, the full suite of 24 types of tax forms and slips listed in Reg. 5(1)(c) (T1 schedules, T4s, T5s, T5018, etc.) and corporate tax returns in 5(1)(d) became accessible upon request (whereas from Nov 2023 to Nov 2024 only a subset, like the T1 return itself, was available).
Current Consolidation: As of the date of this guide, FOAEAA Part I is fully in force as amended, and the Release of Information Regulations (SOR/2023-125) are in force as amended to Nov 15, 2024. All provinces and territories have updated their agreements and procedures accordingly, except Quebec (which is outside FOAEAA Part I’s scope as it has separate information-sharing under the Divorce Act; this guide covers the common law jurisdictions only).
