Child and Spousal Support: Maintenance Enforcement Survey Statistics - ARCHIVED

This publication contains statistical information on child and spousal support payments which are collected from maintenance enforcement programs (MEPs) across Canada. These programs, which exist in each province and territory, provide administrative assistance to recipients to help them collect their support payments. In March 2010, about 408,000 cases were registered in the 11 reporting MEPs.

Information is collected through the Maintenance Enforcement Survey (MES) and the Survey of Maintenance Enforcement Programs (SMEP). These surveys gather information on the caseload of the MEP, the sex and median age of payors and recipients, typical support amounts, compliance rates, information on arrears, frequency and amount of payments, legislation under which the order for support was made, and types of actions that are initiated in order to enforce support.

The SMEP, a micro data survey, is currently being implemented in some jurisdictions and eventually all 13 provincial/territorial MEPs will report to the SMEP. This report contains data from Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon and the Northwest Territories. In future years, with more provinces and territories able to report to the SMEP, a more complete national picture of maintenance enforcement will emerge.

This product has now been discontinued. The last issue of this publication was 2009/2010 released September 17, 2010. Other data tables are available through CANSIM: tables 259-0001 to 259-0010 at http://cansim2.statcan.gc.ca and in the Summary tables section (free) at http://www40.statcan.ca/index-eng.htm.