Highlights

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1. On March 31, 2009, about 400,000 cases, most involving children, were registered in Maintenance Enforcement Programs (MEPs) in the eight provinces and two territories reporting data (Table 2). The number of cases enrolled declined slightly from the previous year.
2. In March 2009, about two-thirds of cases with a regular payment owing in the month had an amount due between $1 and $400. The Northwest Territories had the lowest proportion of cases with an amount due of less than $400 (45%) and New Brunswick the highest (77%) (Table 9).
3. Over two-thirds of cases registered with a MEP are in full compliance with their regular monthly payment in any given month. In 2008/2009, each month an average of 68% of cases were in compliance with their monthly regular payment due in the reporting provinces and territories, ranging from 54% in the Northwest Territories to 79% in Quebec (Table 15).
4. Monthly compliance rates with regular payment due were stable throughout 2008/2009 in most jurisdictions. The average monthly compliance rate increased or remained stable from the previous year for all jurisdictions
   (Table 15).
5. Cases do not necessarily remain in compliance throughout the year. For the six jurisdictions reporting these data (Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta, Yukon and the Northwest Territories), in over one-third of cases, payors made their regular payment in full every month in 2008/2009, and in nearly two-thirds of cases, payors made their payment in full at least 6 months of the year (Table 16).
6. During 2008/2009, MEPs in the six jurisdictions reporting these data (Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta, Yukon and the Northwest Territories) collected most of the money (84%) that was due
   (Table 12). This includes not only payments made on time, but late payments as well.
7. On March 31, 2009, 64% of cases had arrears (money owing from earlier missed payments), the same proportion as the previous year. Total arrears owing was $2.5 billion for the 10 reporting jurisdictions, up 3% from the previous year. Since 2004/2005, the amount of arrears owing has increased between 2% to 3% each year (Table 18).
8. In 2008/2009, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon and the Northwest Territories reported initiating over 390,000 enforcement actions, such as tracing, garnishments, and demands for information or payment (Table 21).