Petition to the House of Commons
  Whereas:
  
    All children of divorce or separation should continue to benefit from the financial means of both parents as if they were still together;
    Provincial Maintenance Enforcement Programs (MEP)  collect court-ordered child support and impose enforcement as needed;
    Despite extensive enforcement measures imposed by MEP, some payers perpetually ignore their financial obligations;
    In 2019-20, 65% of support cases started the year in arrears;
    $3.7 billion is currently owed in child support to over 54,000 children in Canada;
     Child support payments are not taxable for the payee nor deductible for the payer;
     In business, unpaid debt is considered “Bad Debt” and therefore not taxed.  The business can write off debt until the year it is recovered, at which time the business is then taxed on the recovered amount;
       No such tax provision exists for parents with child support payments owing; meaning there is no “Bad Debt” clause allowing arrears to be deducted from the payee’s income; and
     For example; payee (A) with $60,000 earned income and child support arrears of $20,000 is more disadvantaged than payee (B) with $40,000 earned income who receives $20,000 in child support. Both raising children on $60,000 but (A) pays income tax on the full $60,000. Because of this, (A) is often in a higher tax bracket and often ineligible for social supports.
  
  
    We, the undersigned, citizens of Canada, call upon the House of Commons to change the terms of taxation so the amount of child support in arrears is deducted from the recipient’s income and then only becomes taxed, if and when it is recovered.