Minister's message

On behalf of the Department of Justice, I am pleased to present our report on fees for 2020–21.

The Service Fees Act provides a modern legislative framework that enables cost-effective delivery of services and, through better reporting to Parliament, improves transparency and oversight.

Over the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic affected the Department’s fees regime in a number of ways. The Government of Canada was dedicated to help Canadians during these difficult times by providing economic support to individuals facing hardship. As a result, there was also an important increase in the garnishment of employment insurance payments to satisfy family support obligations of vulnerable Canadian children and families under the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act (FOAEAA), increasing the fees collected under the regime. Moreover, as courts across Canada moved quickly to create new remote ways of accessing services, the Department saw a significant drop in applications and associated revenues to the Central Registry of Divorce Proceedings (CRDP).

Through the introduction of the Service Fees Act and the Directive on Charging and Special Financial Authorities, departmental accountability and information to fee payers has increased. To ensure that all obligations are met and that there is fairness in the management of fees, the Department is conducting periodic fee reviews. The first periodic fee review commenced in 2020-21 and the Department is committed to completing the periodic review of all its fees by the end of the fiscal year 2022-2023.

I welcome the transparency and oversight that the Service Fees Act’s reporting regime embodies, and I am fully committed to the reporting regime provided under the Service Fees Act.

The Honourable David Lametti, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada