Proposed changes to spousal and child support collection include fees on delinquent accounts
The Saskatchewan government has announced the introduction of the Enforcement of Maintenance Orders Amendment Act, 2026, which seeks to equip the Maintenance Enforcement Office with additional tools to help families receive the child and spousal support payments owed to them.
“By strengthening our enforcement measures, we can help ensure parents meet their support obligations and families receive the payments they depend on,” said Tim McLeod, Saskatchewan’s justice minister and attorney general, in a news release.
The provincial government shared that the contemplated changes aim to:
- Help the Maintenance Enforcement Office recover overdue child and spousal support payments
- Allow the office to charge certain fees on delinquent accounts, including an annual default fee and a fee for payments returned because of insufficient funds
“Every child deserves the financial support to which they are entitled, and these proposed changes would give Saskatchewan's Maintenance Enforcement Office additional authority to collect overdue support,” McLeod said.
Other contemplated changes
In its news release, the Saskatchewan government noted that the proposed amendments also intend to:
- Enable access to funds held in tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs) for the collection of outstanding support payments
- Permit prescribing certain investment tools, similar to those introduced by the federal government, for enforcement in the future
The provincial government added that the planned legislation seeks to amend pension-related definitions to consider variable life payments, which will help ensure access to eligible future payments from certain annuities to recover overdue support payments.
Objectives of proposed legislation
The provincial government explained that the planned amendments will supplement the current enforcement tools, such as:
- the seizure of wages and bank accounts
- the suspension of drivers’ licenses and passports
- a requirement for payors to participate in court proceedings
About the Maintenance Enforcement Office
According to the Saskatchewan government’s news release, the Maintenance Enforcement Office manages more than 7,000 active files. Thus far this year, the office has collected over $33 million for children and families.
More news involving Saskatchewan family law
The Saskatchewan government previously announced the introduction of Bill No. 30 – the Inter-jurisdictional Support Orders Amendment Act, 2025 – which implemented the Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance.
In a case concerning two land parcels jointly held by a former couple, the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal saw a palpable and overriding error in a judge’s finding that the evidence was unclear about what structures were on the lands.
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