The department of Justice Canada has established the FOAEA Unit in Ottawa to implement the tracing, garnishment, and licence denial provision of the FOAEA Act.

TRACING : Under Part I of the Family Orders and Agreement Enforcement Assistance Act, the FOAEA Unit within the Department of Justice Canada receives tracing applications from provincial and territorial authorities to locate residential addresses and employer name and addresses of individuals who are in default of a family provision.

Address information is taken from federal data banks administered under the Canada Pension Plan Act, the Employment Insurance Act and the Income Tax Act. This information is handled under strict procedures that are set out in agreements between the federal and provincial and territorial governments.

This information is released to authorized provincial and territorial agencies, courts, or police agencies that are responsible for enforcing the family provisions. Provincial and territorial enforcement agencies account for more than 99 per cent of the Tracing applications received.

During a typical year, the FOAEA Unit receives between 7,000 and 8,000 applications for address information on individuals in default of a family provision and there are, at any given time, about 7,500 applications in effect.

Forms to be used:

Tracing Application T01 and Tracing Affidavit T02 including the guide to completion of Application Form, intended for Court House or the Provincial/Territorial Enfocement Programs only. These forms are not intended for the general public. If the following documents are not accessible to you, please contact Family Orders and Agreements (http://canada.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/flas/contact.html) for assistance.

INTERCEPTION : If your federal payment has been reduced

Important Notice to support payors

Under Part II of the Family Orders and Agreement Enforcement Assistance Act, (FOAEA), the FOAEA Unit receives garnishment applications from provincial and territorial authorities and applies them to federal payments such as Employment Insurance benefits, Income Tax refunds, and Canada Pension Plan payments.

The Interception Program under FOAEA intercepts federal payments that would otherwise go to individuals who are in default of their family support obligations. These funds are then diverted to provincial and territorial authorities that, in turn, distribute them to the custodial parents.

Typically, FOAEA receives more than 30,000 garnishment applications per year and has more than 110,000 files open at any one time. More than 300,000 garnishment actions are taken each year, diverting approximately $80 million worth of federal payments from family support debtors to creditors. The Program collects an annual administration fee to recover the cost of the garnishment process.

The Program administers a working capital fund of $9 million, which allows it to disburse funds to the provinces and territories as soon as they have been garnisheed. This reduces the time required to transfer funds to provincial enforcement authorities to four to six weeks.

The public may access the FOAEA information services through an automated system (1-800-267-7777). An average of 11, 000 calls is received each month. Debtors using the system may access their own account information, request statements of accounts and leave messages for return calls. The system offers general information to creditors and the public about the program. This system operates 24 hours on 24, 7 days a week. If your are a support payor (debtor), you will need your social insurance number and the Justice Reference number.

Form to be used:

Interception Application I01, intended for Court House or the Provincial/Territorial Enfocement Programs only. These forms are not intended for the general public. If the following documents are not accessible to you, please contact Family Orders and Agreements (http://canada.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/flas/contact.html) for assistance.

LICENCE DENIALS: Under Part III of the Family Orders and Agreement Enforcement Assistance Act (FOAEA), which came into force in 1997, the Department of Justice can order the suspension or denial of federal licences -such as aviation and marine certificates and passport - to persons who are in default of their family support obligations. This action can be taken when a debtor is in default of family support by at least $3,000 or more, or has missed three support payments.

Only provincial or territorial enforcement services may submit licence denial applications. Once the FOAEA unit has accepted an application, information on the debtor is transmitted to Transport Canada and the Passport Office.

If the individuals are holders of licences, they will be required to surrender them. In the case of passports, holders are subject to penalties under FOAEA if they do not return the documents. If the individuals do not hold such licences, they will be refused upon application.

Licence denial applications remain in force until provincial enforcement programs instruct the FOAEA Program to terminate them.

Forms to be used:

Licence Denial Application L01, Licence Denial Affidavit L02, and Licence Denial Termination L03, intended for the Provincial/Territorial Enfocement Programs only. These forms are not intended for the general public.

Further information or copies of application forms and instruction may be obtained by writing:

Family Law Assistance Services
FOAEA Services
P.O. Box 2730, Station D
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 5W7