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S.M. 2004, c. 14

Bill 18, 2nd Session, 38th Legislature

The Improved Enforcement of Support Payments (Various Acts Amended) Act

(Assented to June 10, 2004)

HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, enacts as follows:

PART 1

THE FAMILY MAINTENANCE ACT

C.C.S.M. c. F20 amended

1

The Family Maintenance Act is amended by this Part.

2

Section 46 is amended by renumbering it as subsection 46(1) and by adding the following as subsection 46(2):

Compensatory payment

46(2)

Where an application is made under subsection (1) to vary or discharge an order, at the request of the person entitled to maintenance for himself or herself, or for a child, the court may, if it thinks it fit and just to do so, order that the person required to pay maintenance make a compensatory payment in an amount up to $500. to the person entitled to receive maintenance if

(a) a maintenance payment was paid after the date it was due;

(b) a required maintenance payment was not paid; or

(c) the full amount of a required maintenance payment was not paid.

Varying or discharging penalty

46(3)

Subsection (1) applies, with necessary changes, to a penalty assessed under section 61.2.

3

The definition "order" in section 52 is amended

(a) in clause (a), by adding "and includes a compensatory order under subsection 46(2)" after "The Wives' and Children's Maintenance Act (now repealed),"; and

(b) by replacing clause (b) with the following:

(b) a maintenance order, provisional maintenance order or interim maintenance order made in a jurisdiction outside Manitoba and registered or confirmed in Manitoba under The Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders Act (now repealed) or The Enforcement of Judgments Conventions Act, or a support order or support variation order made in Manitoba or in a reciprocating jurisdiction outside Manitoba and registered in Manitoba under The Inter-jurisdictional Support Orders Act, or

(b.1) the maintenance or support provisions of a written agreement made in a reciprocating jurisdiction outside Manitoba and registered in Manitoba under The Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders Act (now repealed) or The Inter-jurisdictional Support Orders Act, or

4

The following is added after subsection 56(5):

Arrears due if default in payment plan

56(6)

Where the deputy registrar makes an order under clause (2)(e), upon failure to make any payment with respect to arrears by the date specified in the order, the full amount of the arrears specified in the order becomes due and payable.

5

The following is added after subsection 57(3.2):

Arrears due if default in payment plan

57(3.3)

Where a judge or master makes an order under clause (3)(c), upon failure to make any payment with respect to arrears by the date specified in the order, the full amount of the arrears specified in the order becomes due and payable.

6

The following is added after subsection 61(4):

Remission of penalties

61(5)

Subsection (4) applies, with necessary changes, to a penalty assessed under section 61.2.

7

The following is added after section 61.1:

Penalty assessed on payor

61.2(1)

If a person required to pay maintenance under an order

(a) fails to do so by the date required in the order; or

(b) fails to make a payment required by the order;

the designated officer shall assess a penalty against that person, determined in accordance with the regulations.

Penalty a debt owing

61.2(2)

A penalty assessed under subsection (1) is a debt owing by the person required to pay maintenance to the person entitled to receive maintenance under the order.

Enforcing payment of a penalty

61.2(3)

The designated officer may enforce a penalty assessed under subsection (1) in the same manner as an order, and for that purpose, may take any action under subsection 55(4), except action under clause 55(4)(f), (g), (h) or (j).

Regulations

61.2(4)

The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations

(a) respecting the amount of a penalty that may be assessed under this section, including the maximum amount that may be assessed, and the frequency of assessing a penalty;

(b) exempting persons or classes of persons from paying a penalty;

(c) respecting the manner of assessing a penalty;

(d) respecting the manner of notifying the person required to pay a penalty.

Recovery of costs by designated officer

61.3(1)

The designated officer may, in accordance with the regulations, charge costs to the person required to pay maintenance that relate to the costs of the designated officer in taking action under section 55.

Enforcing recovery of costs

61.3(2)

Subsection 61.2(3) applies, with necessary changes, to enforcing recovery of an amount charged as costs under subsection (1).

Application of money to costs

61.3(3)

Money received or collected by the designated officer may be applied to outstanding costs charged under subsection (1) only if no amount of maintenance is in default, no penalty under section 61.2 is owing and no compensatory payment under subsection 46(2) is owing.

Enforcement of costs owing

61.3(4)

The designated officer may continue to enforce recovery of an amount owed to him or her as costs even if

(a) the order has been withdrawn under subsection 53(3) or 53(3.5);

(b) the arrears of maintenance have been discharged; or

(c) there is no further obligation to pay maintenance.

Enforcement of costs where stay ordered

61.3(5)

An order of a judge staying enforcement of an order by the designated officer does not affect the officer's ability to enforce recovery of an amount charged as costs under subsection (1) unless the judge otherwise orders.

Regulations

61.3(6)

The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations respecting

(a) the costs that the designated officer may charge under this section;

(b) the persons or classes of persons who may be required to pay costs;

(c) the manner of notifying a person required to pay costs.

PART 2

THE GARNISHMENT ACT

C.C.S.M. c. G20 amended

8

The Garnishment Act is amended by this Part.

9

Section 7 is amended by adding "or under a support order as defined in subsection 12.1(1)" after "section 13".

10

Clause 8(1)(a) is amended by striking out "and" at the end of subclause (i) and by adding the following after subclause (ii):

(iii) if it is an extra-provincial garnishing order under section 12.1, the deputy registrar of the court for the judicial centre where the designated officer filed the order; and

11(1)

Clause 12(1)(c) is amended by striking out "or" at the end of subclause (iv), by adding "or" at the end of subclause (v) and by adding the following after subclause (v):

(vi) a support order as defined in subsection 12.1(1),

11(2)

The following is added after clause 12(1)(d):

(d.1) if it is an extra-provincial garnishing order under subsection 12.1(1), a statement indicating that that is the case and setting forth the provisions of sections 4, 4.1, 4.3, 4.4, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12.1;

12

The following is added after section 12:

EXTRA-PROVINCIAL GARNISHING ORDERS

Definitions

12.1(1)

In this section,

"designated officer" means a designated officer as defined in Part VI of The Family Maintenance Act; (« fonctionnaire désigné »)

"extra-provincial garnishing order" means a document from a reciprocating jurisdiction that corresponds to a garnishing order under this Act; (« ordonnance de saisie-arrêt extraprovinciale »)

"judgment debtor" means a person against whom a support order is made; (« débiteur judiciaire »)

"reciprocating jurisdiction" means a reciprocating jurisdiction as defined in The Inter-jurisdictional Support Orders Act; (« État pratiquant la réciprocité »)

"support" includes support, maintenance or alimony payable for a person, or for the child of a person, or for both; (« aliments »)

"support order" means a court order or an order made by an administrative body requiring the payment of support and includes the provisions of a written agreement requiring the payment of support if those provisions are enforceable in the jurisdiction in which the agreement was made as if they were contained in an order of a court of that jurisdiction, but does not include a maintenance order enforced by a designated officer under Part VI of The Family Maintenance Act. (« ordonnance alimentaire »)

Extra-provincial garnishing order filed

12.1(2)

The designated officer may file an extra-provincial garnishing order in the Court of Queen's Bench if

(a) it is issued by a competent authority in a reciprocating jurisdiction and directed to a garnishee in Manitoba;

(b) it is sent to the designated officer by a person in the reciprocating jurisdiction who, in the opinion of the designated officer, performs the same or similar functions as those performed by the designated officer;

(c) it states that it is issued in respect of a support order that is enforceable in the issuing jurisdiction, or is accompanied by a statement to that effect;

(d) it states the amount of arrears and the amount of ongoing support payments under the support order, if any, or is accompanied by a statement to that effect;

(e) it is accompanied by the support order for which it is issued; and

(f) it and any documents required under clauses (c), (d) or (e) are written in English or French or accompanied by a sworn or certified translation into English or French.

Converting amount into Canadian currency

12.1(3)

If an extra-provincial garnishing order refers to an amount not expressed in Canadian currency, the designated officer shall

(a) convert the amount to Canadian currency by applying a rate of exchange for the equivalent amount in Canadian currency that is set by a bank and applicable on the day the extra-provincial garnishing order is filed; and

(b) before filing the order, attach a statement to it setting out the equivalent amount in Canadian currency and the source of the quotation.

Amount due in Canadian currency

12.1(4)

The amount so determined under clause (3)(a) is deemed to be the amount payable under the order.

Service of extra-provincial garnishing order

12.1(5)

After filing an extra-provincial garnishing order, the designated officer shall serve two copies of it, each with the statement referred to in clause (3)(b), if applicable, on the garnishee by personal service or by an alternative to personal service in accordance with the Queen's Bench Rules.

Copy to judgment debtor

12.1(6)

The garnishee shall without delay deliver or mail a copy of the extra-provincial garnishing order to the judgment debtor at the last address known to the garnishee.

Amount remitted by garnishee to reciprocating jurisdiction

12.1(7)

Despite subsection 4.2(1) of this Act and any other Act or any regulation made under an Act, a garnishee who has been served with an extra-provincial garnishing order pursuant to this section shall, subject to subsections 4.2(2) and (3), remit any amount payable under it in accordance with the order.

Recognition of extra-provincial garnishing order

12.1(8)

An extra-provincial garnishing order under this section has the same force and effect as a garnishing order issued under section 4.

Application

12.1(9)

This section applies whether or not the support order could be or has been registered in Manitoba under The Inter-jurisdictional Support Orders Act.

Terminology

12.1(10)

If, in a proceeding under this section, a document from a reciprocating jurisdiction contains terminology different from the terminology in this Act or contains terminology or is in a different form than that customarily in use in the Court of Queen's Bench, the court must give a broad and liberal interpretation to the terminology or form so as to give effect to the document.

13

Clauses (c) and (d) of the definition "maintenance order" in section 13 are replaced with the following:

(c) a maintenance order, provisional maintenance order or interim maintenance order made in a jurisdiction outside Manitoba and registered or confirmed in Manitoba under The Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders Act (now repealed) or The Enforcement of Judgments Conventions Act, or a support order or support variation order made in Manitoba or in a reciprocating jurisdiction outside Manitoba and registered in Manitoba under The Inter-jurisdictional Support Orders Act, or

(d) the maintenance or support provisions of a written agreement made in a reciprocating jurisdiction outside Manitoba and registered in Manitoba under The Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders Act (now repealed) or The Inter-jurisdictional Support Orders Act.

14

Subsection 13.3(2) is amended

(a) by replacing the section heading with "Garnishee to serve extra copy of order"; and

(b) in the part before clause (a), by striking out "leave with the garnishee" and substituting "also serve the garnishee with".

15

Clause 13.5(1)(c) is replaced with the following:

(c) the debt for which the order is issued is satisfied, if the order was obtained by

(i) a person entitled to maintenance, whether as periodic payments or otherwise, or

(ii) the designated officer, on behalf of a person entitled to maintenance other than periodic payments of maintenance;

(c.1) there is no further obligation on the judgment debtor to make periodic payments of maintenance, if the order was obtained by the designated officer on behalf of a person entitled to periodic payments of maintenance;

16

The following is added after clause 15(c):

(d) respecting the manner of serving garnishing orders and notices of discontinuance by the designated officer, as defined in section 13.

PART 3

CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS AND COMING INTO FORCE

Consequential amendment, C.C.S.M. c. C280

17

Section 41 of The Court of Queen's Bench Act is amended in clause (u) of the definition "family proceeding" by adding "12.1 and" after "sections".

Coming into force

18

This Act comes into force on a day to be fixed by proclamation.