Mr. Speaker, I wish to report on the progress of a program in the Department of Justice, first introduced in 1989. I am happy to report that it is a success story.

The maintenance enforcement program was introduced to ensure that persons who had been ordered by the courts to support their spouse and children lived up to their obligations. Maintenance orders, or support orders, as they are often called, are ordered in circumstances when a family has broken down, but the financial obligation to support one's spouse or children continues.

In the past, the person or persons entitled to support, usually the children of the marriage represented by the mother, often had difficulties in realizing the support they were entitled to, because the person ordered to pay -- the "debtor" -- refused to live up to his or her obligations. In the more difficult cases, the debtor was often in a different jurisdiction.

Since 1989, it is possible for the creditor to register the maintenance order with the administrator of the maintenance enforcement program, who will pursue the enforcement of the order on behalf of the creditor. As I said earlier, the creditor is usually seeking to enforce the order on behalf of the children.

The administrator of the program has power under the legislation to attach any money owing to the debtor by third parties, such as employers or governments. In this way, children dependent on the support of their parents are now receiving support which previously was evaded all too often by debtors.

A related process is the reciprocal enforcement of maintenance orders, whereby a debtor who has moved to another jurisdiction can be compelled to provide maintenance to a family residing in another part of the country. Reciprocal enforcement of these orders can even be enforced in other countries, if both countries are reciprocating jurisdictions.

New measures are constantly being introduced to ensure that orders are enforced. Recently, the maintenance enforcement administrator was given access to a computer database of all registered vehicles across the country. An absconding debtor's location can now be determined at electronic speeds.

The effectiveness of the program has grown dramatically. The number of cases affecting NWT creditors has grown from zero in 1989 to 411 in the fiscal year ending January 31, 1995. The enforcement of orders from other jurisdictions has grown from 105 to 458 in the same period.

Interestingly, there were 13 cases in the past year when debtors voluntarily registered with the program, which is an indication that debtors increasingly are becoming aware of the effectiveness of the program, and see an advantage to themselves in living within the discipline that it imposes.

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to inform the House that we have programs which are working to ensure that children are receiving the support they are entitled to.

---Applause