Ottawa, April 29 2002 - Today, the Honourable Martin Cauchon, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, tabled in the House of Commons Children Come First: A Report to Parliament on the Provisions and Operation of the Federal Child Support Guidelines.

"The Federal Child Support Guidelines, which were implemented five years ago, have been a solid success" said Minister Cauchon. "As the Report shows, child support amounts are fair, predictable and consistent, for the benefit of children. The Guidelines have reduced conflict and tension between parents, by making the calculation of child support more objective. They have also improved the efficiency of the legal process to such an extent that most parents are now setting child support amounts without going to court."

The Report to Parliament highlights a number of changes that will be implemented in order to improve the current child support system, including a change in the following areas:

• The factors used to determine the amount of support in shared custody situations would be replaced with a presumptive formula, which a judge would apply, unless he or she thought it was inappropriate.
• The term extraordinary expense would be defined in an effort to 1) guide parents and the courts better when they are examining expenses, and 2) improve consistency across the country among families in similar circumstances.
• Recipients of support for a child the age of majority or over would be required to disclose information to the payor about the child's ongoing eligibility for support.

"The success of the Guidelines would not have been possible without the collaborative efforts of the provinces and territories, and the contributions of the legal community and the Canadian public" said Minister Cauchon.

This Report fulfills the Government's obligation to report fully on how well the Federal Child Support Guidelines are working. The Minister will bring the recommendations forward for implementation through the regulatory process.

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Ref.:

Lise Lafrenière Henrie
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