INTER-JURISDICTIONAL MAINTENANCE ESTABLISHMENT AND ENFORCEMENT PROTOCOL

Provincial and Territorial Ministers responsible for Justice

acknowledge and recognize that

• the timely establishment of support orders for the benefit of children and other family members and the timely and effective enforcement of support obligations is critical to the well-being of children and families;
  
  
• the establishment, variation and enforcement of support obligations in inter-jurisdictional cases can be more complex than in intra-provincial cases;
  
  
• with the increasing mobility of the Canadian population it is essential that provinces and territories work together in a spirit of co-operation to ensure that support orders can be obtained, varied and enforced in a timely and effective manner in inter-jurisdictional cases;
  
  
• the federal government has contributed and needs to continue to contribute to the efficacy of maintenance enforcement programs and the reciprocal process by facilitating discussion and the exchange of information inter-provincially and internationally, by supporting the establishment and enhancement of maintenance enforcement initiatives and by establishing support enforcement options federally;

Ministers further mutually express their commitment to

• encourage and facilitate the timely recognition and enforcement of extra-provincial support orders transmitted to their respective jurisdictions;
  
  
• encourage and facilitate the timely establishment or variation of support orders between residents of their respective jurisdictions;
  
  
• co-operate in assisting officials of other jurisdictions to locate persons for the purpose of establishing, varying or enforcing support orders in inter-jurisdictional cases;
  
  
• co-operate in providing necessary documents and information to officials of other jurisdictions to assist in establishing, varying or enforcing support orders in inter-jurisdictional cases;
  
  
• ensure that a broad and liberal interpretation is given to documents and requests for assistance received from officials of other jurisdictions to facilitate the establishment, variation or enforcement of support orders;
  
  
• ensure that equal priority is given to the enforcement of extra-provincial support orders registered or confirmed in their respective jurisdictions and to the enforcement of support orders for the benefit of persons resident in their respective jurisdictions;
  
  
• provide timely responses and reports on the status of support orders sent to their respective jurisdictions for registration and enforcement;
  
  
• provide timely responses and reports on the status of requests sent to their respective jurisdictions to establish or vary support orders;
  
  
• provide timely responses and reports on the status of enforcement efforts respecting extra-provincial support orders registered or confirmed in their respective jurisdictions;
  
  
• co-operate in communicating openly and in a timely fashion on matters relating to the recognition, establishment, variation and enforcement of support obligations, including on policy, procedural and legislative matters;
  
  
• co-operate in promoting practices that will increase efficiency and reduce barriers to recognition, establishment, variation and enforcement of support obligations;

Further, Ministers acknowledge and recognize

• the importance of working together in a co-operative, collaborative fashion to ensure that individuals meet their support obligations, and
  
  
• the importance of achieving these objectives and fulfilling the commitments herein in both inter-provincial and international cases,

and therefore agree to

• encourage officials in their respective jurisdictions to establish uniform policies, standards and procedures which will give effect to the commitments herein;
  
  
• encourage dialogue and co-operation among all Canadian jurisdictions to give effect to the mutual commitments herein; and
  
  
• work collaboratively to explore innovative and effective means to recognize, establish and vary support obligations, and to ensure compliance with support obligations in both inter-jurisdictional and intra-provincial cases.