Collection and remittance of support payments outside Québec
If you are no longer receiving the support payments to which you are entitled under a court judgment after moving away from Québec, or if the person required to make the payments lives outside Québec, then assistance is available. The Act respecting reciprocal enforcement of maintenance orders (chapter E-19) allows you to have a Québec court order enforced in all the Canadian provinces and territories, and in ten US states: California, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Vermont.
The Act and its application
Since the coming into force of the Act to facilitate the payment of support, a person required to pay support (the debtor) must, unless exempted by a court, pay the amount to Revenu Québec, who will then remit it to the person entitled to receive support (the creditor).
When a debtor moves to a place that is not designated in the Act respecting reciprocal enforcement of maintenance orders, Revenu Québec will take action to seize any property the debtor has in Québec. If this is not possible, the creditor may contact a lawyer to assess the possibility of having the Québec judgment recognized and executed abroad. In this case, the creditor will have to pay for any judicial proceedings.
Creditor living in Québec and debtor living outside Québec
When the debtor settles outside Québec, but in a jurisdiction covered by the Act respecting reciprocal enforcement of maintenance orders, the creditor does not need to take any action. The support payments required under a court judgment will continue to be paid by Revenu Québec, since the Ministère de la Justice du Québec (MJQ), working with Revenu Québec, will complete all the necessary formalities and take all the necessary steps to ensure that the judgment is exercised in the jurisdiction where the debtor lives. When the execution of a Québec judgment is transferred to the authorities of another jurisdiction, the laws in force in that jurisdiction will apply.
ExampleSonia and Richard, who live in Québec, have two children. They separate, and the Superior Court orders Richard, the debtor, to make support payments to Sonia, the creditor, to support the couple’s children. A few months later, Richard moves to Ontario, but without leaving an address. Revenu Québec, after attempting to locate Richard using its own resources or the information provided by Sonia, asks the MJQ to forward the file to the relevant administrative authority in Ontario, to ensure that the judgment of the Québec Superior Court is sent to the clerk’s office of an Ontario court for execution. Once this has been done, the payments made by Richard to the authorities in Ontario will be forwarded to Revenu Québec, which will then remit them to Sonia to support her children in Québec. |
It is important to note that an extra-provincial judgment, in other words a judgment that will be enforced in a province, territory or state that is not where the creditor lives must, when obtained by a creditor living in Québec, be approved with or without amendment by a court in the jurisdiction where the debtor lives.
The Act respecting reciprocal enforcement of maintenance orders also allows a creditor living outside Québec to have a judgment concerning support payments, made in a Canadian province or territory or one of the ten US states listed, to have the judgment enforced in Québec.
ExampleJohn and Carmen have a child together. A court in Florida orders Carmen to make support payments for the child. John, the creditor, lives in Florida, and Carmen, the debtor, lives in Québec, but fails to make regular payments. At the request of the authorities in Florida, the MJQ files the US judgment concerning John and Carmen in the clerk’s office of the Québec Superior Court. Revenu Québec then takes steps to collect the payments from Carmen, and sends the amounts to the authorities in Florida for payment to John to help him support their child. |
It is important to note that an extra-provincial judgment, in other words a judgment obtained by a creditor living in a province or territory other than Québec or a state mentioned in the Act, must be approved with or without amendment by the Québec court having jurisdiction in the place where the debtor lives.
Contact:
Caroline Beaulac
Email: caroline.beaulac@justice.gouv.qc.ca
Phone: 418 644-8477
Judicial cooperation between France and Québec
Under the Act to secure the carrying out of the Entente between France and Québec respecting mutual aid in judicial matters (chapter A-20.1) , the MJQ is responsible for a program to ensure the voluntary recovery of alimentary pensions (support payments) in France and Québec. Revenu Québec plays no role in this program.
If a judgment has been rendered in Québec concerning a debtor living in France who fails to make regular support payments, the MJQ, once informed of the situation by the Québec creditor, sends the files to the French Ministry of Justice. The authorities in France take steps to locate the debtor and encourage him or her to make the payments voluntarily.
The MJQ will help the French Ministry of Justice to locate a debtor living in Québec and encourage him or her to make voluntary payments. At the request of the French Ministry of Justice, the MJQ sends a notice to the debtor, asking him or her to comply with the obligation to provide support, and if applicable transfers the amounts received to the French Ministry of Justice.
Contact:
France Rémillard
Email: france.remillard@justice.gouv.qc.ca
Phone: 418 644-7153
For more information
- Support payment collection program of Revenu Québec
