The Divorce Act Changes Explained

Miscellaneous

Guidelines – production of information
(Section 26.1(1)(h), Divorce Act)

New section

Paragraph 26.1(1)(h) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(h) respecting the production of information relevant to an order for child support and providing for sanctions and other consequences when that information is not provided.
Old section

(h) respecting the production of income information and providing for sanctions when that information is not provided.

What is the change

The amendment removes the word “income” from s 26.1(1)(h) of the Divorce Act to allow for the regulatory provisions related to the production of various types of information relevant to a child support order, including information not related to income. The amendment also allows for the inclusion of other consequences when the required information is not provided.

Reason for the change

The Federal Child Support Guidelines (Federal Guidelines) include provisions dealing with the production of both income and non-income information. The amendment clarifies the enabling authority by outlining that the Federal Guidelines can regulate the production of both types of information for the purposes of child support orders. In addition to sanctions, the regulations will also be able to provide for other consequences for non-disclosure of information.

When

This provision came into force on June 21, 2019.