Vol. 151, No. 7 — April 5, 2017

Registration

SOR/2017-48 March 24, 2017

GARNISHMENT, ATTACHMENT AND PENSION DIVERSION ACT

Regulations Amending the Garnishment and Attachment Regulations

P.C. 2017-259 March 24, 2017

His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Justice, made after consultation between the Minister and the Speaker of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Commons, pursuant to sections 12 and 24 (see footnote a) of the Garnishment, Attachment and Pension Diversion Act (see footnote b), makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Garnishment and Attachment Regulations.

Regulations Amending the Garnishment and Attachment Regulations

Amendments

1 (1) Paragraph 4(1)(o) of the Garnishment and Attachment Regulations (see footnote 1) is replaced by the following:

(2) Subsection 4(2) of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

(2) If the garnishment proceedings are in respect of a debtor who receives salary or remuneration from the Department of Justice, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada or a court, is a judge or prothonotary to whom the Judges Act applies or is a person appointed by a Minister under section 128 of the Public Service Employment Act, service of documents must be effected at the following place:

Garnishment Registry
Department of Justice
284 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H8.

2 (1) The portion of section 4.1 of the Regulations before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

4.1 Service of documents on the Senate, House of Commons, Library of Parliament, office of the Senate Ethics Officer, office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner or Parliamentary Protective Service in connection with garnishment proceedings permitted by Division IV of Part I of the Act must be effected at the following places:

(2) Section 4.1 of the Regulations is amended by striking out “and” at the end of paragraph (d), by adding “and” at the end of paragraph (e) and by adding the following after paragraph (e):

3 The portion of section 4.3 of the Regulations before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

4.3 Her Majesty, the Senate, the House of Commons, the Library of Parliament, the office of the Senate Ethics Officer, the office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner or Parliamentary Protective Service may respond to a garnishee summons by notice indicating

4 Item 8.2 of the schedule to the Regulations is replaced by the following:

Item continued Item continued

8.2

Debtor is a member of the staff of the office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissionner

□

  
 

Le débiteur est un membre du personnel du Bureau du commissaire aux conflits d’intérêts et à l’éthique

    
   

8.3

Debtor is a member of the staff of the Parliamentary Protective Service

□

  
 

Le débiteur est un membre du personnel du Service de protection parlementaire

    

5 Item 12 of the schedule to the Regulations is replaced by the following:

Item continued Item continued

12

Debtor is a judge or prothonotary to whom the Judges Act applies

□

→
 

Le débiteur est un juge ou un protonotaire visé par la Loi sur les juges

  

__________________________________________________________________
     

Name of court to which the debtor is appointed and location of that court
     

Nom du tribunal et lieu où le juge ou le protonotaire préside

6 Item 16(a) of the schedule to the Regulations is replaced by the following:

Item continued

(a)

Name of contracting entity (department/Crown corporation/Senate/House of Commons/Library of Parliament/office of the Senate Ethics Officer/office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner/Parliamentary Protective Service)

  
     
 

Nom de l’entité titulaire du contrat (ministère, société d’État, Sénat, Chambre des communes, Bibliothèque du Parlement, Bureau du conseiller sénatorial en éthique, Bureau du commissaire aux conflits d’intérêts et à l’éthique, Service de protection parlementaire)

_____________________________

Coming into Force

7 These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issues

Regulatory amendments were required to the Garnishment and Attachment Regulations (Regulations) to ensure that they were reflective of changes to federal legislation and practices.

Background

Part I of the Garnishment, Attachment and Pension Diversion Act (GAPDA) permits the garnishment of salaries and payments to senators, members of Parliament, federal employees and contractors where an applicant serves an application, a copy of the order against the debtor and a garnishee summons on the appropriate garnishment registry of Her Majesty, the Senate, the House of Commons or other parliamentary entity listed in Division IV of the GAPDA. The addresses of garnishment registries and a method of response are prescribed in the Regulations. Upon receipt, registries review and forward the documents with instructions to compensation offices who process the garnishment.

The Judges Act and the Federal Courts Act were amended by Bill C-43, the Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 2,on December 16, 2014. The amendments adjusted prothonotaries’ compensation and brought prothonotaries under the same annuity and administrative processes that apply to federally appointed judges. Consequential amendments to the GAPDA added the term “prothonotaries” to the provisions applicable to judges subject to the Judges Act. As a result, the addition of the term “prothonotaries” to the provisions of the Regulations applicable to judges subject to the Judges Act is required to ensure service of garnishment documents on the appropriate registry.

On June 23, 2015, Bill C-59, the Economic Action Plan 2015 Act, No. 1, received royal assent and the Parliamentary Protective Service (PPS) was established to manage the integrated security operations throughout the parliamentary precinct and Parliament Hill. This new parliamentary entity was included in the garnishment scheme under the GAPDA. Amendments are required to prescribe an address for service of documents on the PPS in order for the GAPDA garnishment scheme to be initiated and allow the PPS to use the prescribed method of response.

Currently the Regulations prescribe a Registry location in Nunavut. However, garnishment documents served in Nunavut are forwarded to the Registry located in the Northwest Territories for processing. Garnishment documents related to Nunavut will now be served directly on the Northwest Territories registry to ensure timely processing.

Objectives

The amendments ensure the Regulations are complete and accurate by providing the correct registry addresses and by allowing the PPS to use the prescribed method of response, which is currently available to other parliamentary entities.

Description

In light of the changes in federal legislation and practices described above, the Regulations are amended as follows:

An amendment adds a reference to “prothonotary” in subsection 4(2) of the Regulations so that garnishment documents related to prothonotaries are served on the same registry as judges to whom the Judges Act applies.

An amendment to section 4.1 prescribes a registry address for the service of garnishment documents relating to the PPS, while another amendment allows the PPS to respond to a garnishee summons by the method prescribed in section 4.3.

An amendment specifies, in paragraph 4(1)(o) of the Regulations, the address of the Northwest Territories Registry for service of garnishment documents related to Nunavut.

Finally, the GAPDA application form is amended accordingly.

“One-for-One” Rule

The “One-for-One” Rule does not apply to these amendments, as there is no change in administrative costs to business.

Small business lens

The small business lens does not apply to these amendments as there are no costs on small business.

Consultation

The Speakers of the Senate and of the House of Commons were consulted in accordance with section 24 of the GAPDA. No comments or concerns were raised.

Rationale

The GAPDA was adopted to help creditors enforce the payment of outstanding debts, particularly family support obligations. The Regulations specify the addresses where garnishment documents are to be submitted to engage the process in relation to prothonotaries, the PPS and Nunavut.

The Regulations allow Her Majesty and parliamentary entities to respond to a garnishee summons by notice containing prescribed information. Allowing the PPS to respond by this prescribed method ensures consistency between parliamentary entities.

Implementation, enforcement and service standards

These Regulations will come into force upon registration.

Implementation of these amendments is carried out by the registries and the compensation offices that are responsible for administering the garnishment process within the federal government departments, the prescribed Crown corporations and the parliamentary entities. Compliance with the GAPDA, Part I, and its Regulations continues to be assured by those parties. Any costs associated with these amendments will be absorbed through existing resources.

Contact

Department of Justice
Email: commentsFOAEAA-GAPDA.commentairesLAEOEF-LSADP@justice.gc.ca