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Transcript of the Chambers Application

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             Sassie v. Klondike, 2015 NWTSC 60        S-1-CV-1997007021

 

 

 

                IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIES

 

 

 

                IN THE MATTER OF:

 

 

 

 

 

                                     ANNA SASSIE

 

                                                     Applicant

 

 

 

                                        - and -

 

 

 

                                    ROY KLONDIKE

 

                                                   Respondent

 

 

 

             __________________________________________________________

 

             Transcript of the Chambers Application held before The

 

             Honourable Justice A. M. Mahar, sitting in Yellowknife,

 

             in the Northwest Territories, on the 24th day of September,

 

             2015.

 

             __________________________________________________________

 

 

 

             APPEARANCES:

 

             Mr. C. Buchanan:        Counsel for the Administrator of

                                     Maintenance Enforcement

 

             Mr. D. Large, Q.C.:     Counsel for the Respondent,

                                     Roy Klondike

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

        Official Court Reporters


 

 

 

 

         1      THE COURT:             Number one Sassie and

 

         2          Klondike.

 

         3      MR. LARGE:             Your Honour, my name is Donald

 

         4          Large.  I'm with Legal Aid out of Yellowknife.  I

 

         5          represent the applicant, Mr. Klondike, and

 

         6          Mr. Klondike has some issues about getting his

 

         7          child support order varied.

 

         8               Mr. Buchanan, my friend, is with the legal

 

         9          services division.  He represents the Director of

 

        10          Maintenance Enforcement.

 

        11      MR. BUCHANAN:          The Administrator.

 

        12      MR. LARGE:             The Administrator of

 

        13          Maintenance Enforcement.

 

        14               Your Honour, this matter has been ongoing

 

        15          for a little while.  And we did obtain an order

 

        16          from Justice Smallwood last date we were in

 

        17          court, which was the 22nd of August, and at that

 

        18          time, I believe -- I'll have to speak to my

 

        19          friend, but I believe we both understood that

 

        20          there was a maintenance order being enforced

 

        21          against Mr. Klondike.  And the day after we were

 

        22          in court, I received correspondence from my

 

        23          friend, which I have put in the form of an

 

        24          affidavit of information sworn by my

 

        25          administrative assistant, Barbara Ruiz, we filed

 

        26          on the 15th of September, and in that letter, my

 

        27          friend advises me that he's reviewed his file and

 

 

 

 

 

 

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         1          that currently Anna Sassie does not have a

 

         2          support order registered for enforcement in the

 

         3          NWT Maintenance Enforcement Program and that in

 

         4          late April of 2015, his client learned that

 

         5          Ms. Sassie had left the jurisdiction and moved to

 

         6          Alberta, and we subsequently advised Ms. Sassie

 

         7          that she would need to register with Alberta

 

         8          Maintenance Enforcement to continue enforcement

 

         9          and that her file with us would be closed

 

        10          shortly, and her file was indeed closed on the

 

        11          19th of August.

 

        12               Now, my client is relatively

 

        13          unsophisticated, Your Honour.  He resides in Fort

 

        14          Liard.  He does not read or write, and any

 

        15          affidavit that we get from him, I deal with the

 

        16          court worker in Fort Simpson, Patricia Waugh.

 

        17          She goes to see him in Fort Liard.  It's like a

 

        18          three-and-a-half-hour drive.  And she reads the

 

        19          affidavit to him, as she did in this case, and

 

        20          then it gets sworn.

 

        21               So my friend, just moments before the Court

 

        22          came to order this morning, gave me a copy of a

 

        23          case I hadn't previously seen.  It was Apples

 

        24          and, I guess, Maurice Cloughley -- is that how

 

        25          you say that?  Maurice Cloughley and the

 

        26          Commissioner of the NWT.  It's a reported

 

        27          decision, it was an ex parte matter, and I'll

 

 

 

 

 

 

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         1          speak to that after my friend has a moment to

 

         2          present his arguments on the matter.  As I say, I

 

         3          previously was unaware of the matter.

 

         4               I am familiar with Rule 38, on which,

 

         5          apparently, this Apples case was decided, and the

 

         6          rule is fairly clear, requires an application for

 

         7          an order for substitutional service to be

 

         8          supported by an affidavit of the deponent stating

 

         9          why it is impractical to effect service on the

 

        10          respondent (in this case, it would be on

 

        11          Ms. Sassie) and that -- proposing an alternative

 

        12          form of service.

 

        13               And in his affidavit, he states that -- I'm

 

        14          sorry.  He states in his affidavit -- it was the

 

        15          one that was filed -- the only one he's filed on

 

        16          the 31st of July of this year at -- just one

 

        17          moment.  He said that in paragraph 3 that he --

 

        18          the applicant took him to court for child support

 

        19          in 1997.  He did not appear on that date.  He

 

        20          didn't -- he cannot read or write, had no idea

 

        21          that he was required to be in court.  In any

 

        22          event, he indicates in his affidavit that it was

 

        23          a nine-year relation (paragraph 2), they had two

 

        24          children, and that the relationship ended quite

 

        25          some time ago and that the children have all

 

        26          reached the age of majority.  And he states that

 

        27          in his belief, at paragraph 9, that the

 

 

 

 

 

 

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         1          applicant, Ms. Sassie, resides in Calgary.  He

 

         2          doesn't have any idea what her current address

 

         3          is.  He had an old phone number which he says has

 

         4          been now assigned to some other person unrelated

 

         5          to the applicant.  He states his relationship

 

         6          ended years ago and "I have had no recent contact

 

         7          with her", and then he explains in paragraph 10

 

         8          that his lawyer, myself, advised him that an

 

         9          internet search was conducted but was

 

        10          unsuccessful and that Maintenance Enforcement was

 

        11          contacted, requested that they provide her

 

        12          address and that request was refused, and there's

 

        13          correspondence between myself and the Maintenance

 

        14          Enforcement office as an exhibit.  So that's

 

        15          basically where we're at.

 

        16               The order of Justice Smallwood provided at

 

        17          paragraph 2 that we be permitted to serve

 

        18          substitutionally the respondent by serving the

 

        19          Family Responsibility Officer of the Maintenance

 

        20          Enforcement Program identified in paragraph one,

 

        21          because when we were before Justice Smallwood, we

 

        22          fully expected that somebody had an order they

 

        23          were trying to enforce against Mr. Klondike and

 

        24          that subsequently proved to be not the case.

 

        25               So we have no way of finding out where

 

        26          Ms. Sassie is.  The Director, however -- the

 

        27          Administrator does.  At least in April of this

 

 

 

 

 

 

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         1          year there was correspondence coming from the

 

         2          Administrator's office to Ms. Sassie advising her

 

         3          that she needs to deal with Alberta Maintenance

 

         4          Enforcement, that her file held locally here

 

         5          would be closed.  So I think that that's the most

 

         6          practical way to bring this to Ms. Sassie's

 

         7          attention, have the Director -- the Administrator

 

         8          of Maintenance Enforcement serve her these

 

         9          documents and then bring the matter back to court

 

        10          at a later date.

 

        11      THE COURT:             So, basically, what you're

 

        12          asking me to do is follow up on Justice

 

        13          Smallwood's order by clarifying that even though

 

        14          the Director is no longer responsible for the

 

        15          maintenance of the file, that they are to still

 

        16          be considered the parties for substitutional

 

        17          service?

 

        18      MR. LARGE:             Yes, that's what I would be

 

        19          (indiscernible) --

 

        20      THE COURT:             Thank you, Mr. Large.

 

        21          Mr. Buchanan.

 

        22      MR. BUCHANAN:          Your Honour, again, as my

 

        23          friend said, I'm counsel for the Administrator of

 

        24          Maintenance Enforcement and we were severed with

 

        25          a Notice of Motion and affidavit of Roy Klondike.

 

        26               The Administer opposes the application of

 

        27          the respondent for an order for substituted

 

 

 

 

 

 

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         1          service on the applicant by serving the

 

         2          Administrator.  We take no position on the other

 

         3          relief sought by the respondent.

 

         4               As my friend explained, at the time that

 

         5          Justice Smallwood's order was granted, we had

 

         6          consented to the order in its form with an

 

         7          understanding from my client that the applicant

 

         8          had been advised to contact her jurisdiction's

 

         9          Maintenance Enforcement office, which at the time

 

        10          we understood to move to Alberta.  Our file had

 

        11          been closed and so we consented to that order.

 

        12          We subsequently learned that, in fact,

 

        13          Ms. Klondike -- or Ms. Sassie had not registered

 

        14          with Alberta MEP, so at this time there's no

 

        15          office responsible for her file, and so

 

        16          essentially the order is ineffective.

 

        17               And so moving into my friend's submissions

 

        18          today that he would like the Administrator

 

        19          served, we, in our respectful submission, oppose

 

        20          this application and ask that it be dismissed for

 

        21          two reasons.  The first being that the respondent

 

        22          has not met the test required to obtain order for

 

        23          substituted service, and the second is that it

 

        24          would be inappropriate to require the

 

        25          Administrator to effect service on the applicant

 

        26          on behalf of the respondent.

 

        27               So respecting the test, the first point is

 

 

 

 

 

 

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         1          that under Rule 38(1) and (2) of the Rules of

 

         2          Court, it sets out what must be shown through

 

         3          evidence by an applicant seeking a sub-service

 

         4          order.  My friend went through the Rules, so I'll

 

         5          leave it to Your Honour to review.

 

         6               Essentially, it is our submission that the

 

         7          respondent's affidavit fails to show why prompt

 

         8          personal service is impractical and why serving

 

         9          the Administrator with the Notice of Motion will

 

        10          or is likely to be effective in providing notice

 

        11          to the applicant.

 

        12               So turning to the affidavit of Roy Klondike.

 

        13          The respondent outlines his effort to make

 

        14          contact with the applicant in paragraphs 9 and

 

        15          10.  My friend had reviewed those efforts.  At

 

        16          paragraph 9, Mr. Klondike -- Mr. Klondike states

 

        17          that he's out of contact with the applicant, he

 

        18          believes she lives in Calgary, but he doesn't

 

        19          know what her address is.  He tried calling her,

 

        20          but the telephone number he has is no longer the

 

        21          applicant's.  In paragraph 10, Mr. Klondike

 

        22          further states that his lawyer conducted an

 

        23          unsuccessful internet search for the applicant's

 

        24          address and telephone number, his lawyer also

 

        25          contacted the Administrator to request the

 

        26          applicant's contact information, but the

 

        27          Administrator refused that request.  In our

 

 

 

 

 

 

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         1          respectful submission, these efforts are not

 

         2          sufficient to show that it is impractical to

 

         3          personally serve the applicant.

 

         4               The meaning of "impractical" under Rule 38

 

         5          was considered by this honourable court in the

 

         6          case of Apples v. Northwest Territories

 

         7          Commissioner, 2009 NWTSC 3, and I have a copy for

 

         8          Your Honour --

 

         9      THE COURT:             Thank you.

 

        10      MR. BUCHANAN:          -- to hand up.  It's a

 

        11          relatively short case and it's well known in this

 

        12          jurisdiction.

 

        13      THE COURT:             Thank you.

 

        14      MR. BUCHANAN:          In that case, the Plaintiffs

 

        15          sought an order for substitutional service on the

 

        16          Defendants with the Statement of Claim by posting

 

        17          an ad in a local newspaper in New Zealand where

 

        18          the Defendant was known to live.  Similar to

 

        19          Mr. Klondike's application, the Plaintiffs in

 

        20          Apples filed an affidavit stating they were not

 

        21          able to locate the address of the Defendant

 

        22          through an internet search.  In dismissing the

 

        23          Plaintiff's application, Justice Cooper compared

 

        24          Rule 38 to Alberta's rule which is identical in

 

        25          wording.  At paragraph 7 of that case, Justice

 

        26          Cooper sites Stevenson and Côté, which states the

 

        27          following:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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         1                 The Rules uses the word

                           "impractical" with respect to

         2                 effecting prompt personal service,

                           but decided cases suggest that

         3                 courts apply a stricter standard,

                           i.e., practical impossibility of

         4                 serving the defendant personally.

                           The affidavit supporting an

         5                 application for substitutional

                           service must state why prompt

         6                 personal service is impractical, and

                           show that reasonable efforts were

         7                 made to locate and to personally

                           serve the defendant.  What is

         8                 reasonable will depend upon the

                           circumstances of the case, including

         9                 the type that relief claimed, the

                           amounts involved, the efforts made

        10                 to locate the defendant, and the

                           steps taken to effect personal

        11                 service ...

 

        12               Justice Cooper found that the stricter

 

        13          standard applied in the Northwest Territories.

 

        14               Your Honour, in our respectful submission,

 

        15          Mr. Klondike has not taken enough steps to locate

 

        16          the Defendant to say that prompt personal service

 

        17          is impractical.  For example, it is open to the

 

        18          respondent to retain the services of a skip

 

        19          tracer or process server in Calgary to locate and

 

        20          serve the applicant.  He could also ask his

 

        21          children if they know where the mother is, and he

 

        22          can contact the lawyer for the applicant in the

 

        23          original hearing to see if they have current

 

        24          contact information for the applicant.  Based on

 

        25          Mr. Klondike's affidavit, none of these

 

        26          reasonable steps have been taken.  As well,

 

        27          Mr. Klondike's affidavit fails to state that he

 

 

 

 

 

 

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         1          believes that serving the Administrator of

 

         2          Maintenance Enforcement with the Notice of Motion

 

         3          will or is likely to be effective in effecting

 

         4          personal service on the Application.

 

         5      THE COURT:             Perhaps you can focus in on

 

         6          that because that is my primary concern.  Are you

 

         7          aware whether or not the Director has current

 

         8          information?  Either Director, here or in

 

         9          Alberta.

 

        10      MR. BUCHANAN:          Your Honour, we do have

 

        11          contact information for the applicant.  We do not

 

        12          know whether it's current.  As my friend stated,

 

        13          we did receive correspondence, or sent

 

        14          correspondence - I'm not clear which - and so I

 

        15          do not know whether that correspondence was

 

        16          received if it had been sent, but I do know that

 

        17          my client does have an address.

 

        18      THE COURT:             All right.

 

        19      MR. BUCHANAN:          So our second submission is

 

        20          that, respectfully, it would inappropriate for

 

        21          this honourable court to require the

 

        22          Administrator to accept service on behalf of the

 

        23          applicant.

 

        24               First, it would not always be the case the

 

        25          Administrator will have the contact information

 

        26          for the creditor.  The respondent assumes that we

 

        27          have the updated address of the applicant, but

 

 

 

 

 

 

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         1          there's no evidence establishing this, although,

 

         2          as I had said, we do have an address.  I do not

 

         3          know the current status of the address.  Second,

 

         4          even if the Administer had contact to reach the

 

         5          applicant, the Administrator is not permitted to

 

         6          release such information in these circumstances

 

         7          pursuant to the Access to Information and

 

         8          Protection of Privacy Act.  And I have a copy of

 

         9          that Act, Your Honour, and I'll refer to a few

 

        10          sections that are relevant.  (Indiscernible).

 

        11      THE COURT:             Thank you.  You wouldn't be

 

        12          required to release the address, you would simply

 

        13          be required to act on the address.  Correct?

 

        14      MR. BUCHANAN:          Well, what my friend is asking

 

        15          is that we accept service on behalf of the

 

        16          applicant, which requires us to send the Notice

 

        17          of Motion to the applicant and ensure that it's

 

        18          been served.  So, essentially, he's passing the

 

        19          responsibility on to our office to incur the

 

        20          costs and ensure that service is effective.

 

        21               So under Section 2 of the ATIPP Act, which I

 

        22          have handed to Your Honour, the Applicant's

 

        23          address and telephone number is considered

 

        24          personal information under the definition.  Under

 

        25          Section 47, which I have flagged, it states that

 

        26          "A public body may disclose personal information

 

        27          only ... (b) in accordance with this Division."

 

 

 

 

 

 

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         1          And I should note that the Administrator is a

 

         2          public body.

 

         3               Section 48, next one down, sets out the

 

         4          various circumstances under which personal

 

         5          information may be disclosed, and I have

 

         6          identified two relevant paragraphs.  First is (a)

 

         7          which states that a public body may use personal

 

         8          information only "(a) for the purpose for which

 

         9          the information was collected or compiled or for

 

        10          a use consistent with that purpose".  The second

 

        11          relevant paragraph is (n).  Disclosure is

 

        12          permitted "for the purpose of complying with a

 

        13          subpoena or warrant issued for an order made --

 

        14          or an order made by a court, person or body that

 

        15          has the authority to compel the production of

 

        16          information or with the rule of court that

 

        17          relates to the production of information."

 

        18               So regarding the first one, sub (a), the

 

        19          Administrator collects a creditor's personal

 

        20          information only for the purposes of enforcement

 

        21          of a support order.  This purpose is set out in

 

        22          the Maintenance Orders Enforcement Act.  The

 

        23          respondent is seeking a sub-service order to

 

        24          commence an application to vary a support order,

 

        25          not enforce a support order.  In fact, the

 

        26          respondent is actually requesting that the order

 

        27          cease being enforced.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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         1               In our submission, the variation of a

 

         2          support order is not the same thing as

 

         3          enforcement, and so the disclosure of the

 

         4          Applicant's personal information for the

 

         5          respondent's application is not consistent with

 

         6          the purpose for which it was collected, thus

 

         7          ATIPP does not permit its disclosure under sub

 

         8          (a).

 

         9               Regarding sub (n), this honourable court may

 

        10          order the disclosure of the Applicant's personal

 

        11          information where there is authority to do so

 

        12          under either legislation or rule of court.  In

 

        13          our submission, there's no such authority and we

 

        14          would defer to the respondent to show under which

 

        15          authority such information could be produced.

 

        16          Barring such authority, the applicant's personal

 

        17          information cannot be disclosed under sub (n) of

 

        18          the ATIPP Act.

 

        19      THE COURT:             It's a question of whether I

 

        20          would determine it to be a disclosure or simply

 

        21          responsibility of your office.  Correct?

 

        22      MR. BUCHANAN:          Yes, under ATIPP, it would be

 

        23          a determination of whether it was disclosure.

 

        24          Whether it was the responsibility of our office,

 

        25          that would fall under --

 

        26      THE COURT:             That's your issue.  Right?

 

        27          The initial issue of whether ATIP even applies at

 

 

 

 

 

 

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         1          all or not is whether or not it's a disclosure.

 

         2          If it's simply a question of shifting the

 

         3          responsibility to your office to locate and serve

 

         4          the respondent, then there's no disclosure

 

         5          providing that information remains within your

 

         6          office.  Correct?  So the question is whether

 

         7          it's properly the responsibility of the office to

 

         8          undertake this.  Correct?

 

         9      MR. BUCHANAN:          Well, under, under Section 48,

 

        10          it's -- our submission, it's a use of personal

 

        11          information, not a disclosure.  So under sub (a)

 

        12          it says that "for the purpose for which the

 

        13          information was collected or compiled or for a

 

        14          use consistent with that purpose".  In this case,

 

        15          ATIPP Act does prevent a public body from using

 

        16          information or disclosing information.

 

        17      THE COURT:             But 48 simply says "a public

 

        18          body may disclose personal information".

 

        19          Correct?  So all of the sub-headings beyond that

 

        20          are related to a disclosure, not a use.

 

        21      MR. BUCHANAN:          Yes.  I see Your Honour's

 

        22          point.  My understanding of the Act, and I would

 

        23          have to find the specific section, is that a use

 

        24          of the information is covered in a different

 

        25          section from disclosure.  And so in our

 

        26          submission, this is a use that's inconsistent

 

        27          with the collection.  Essentially, we're

 

 

 

 

 

 

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         1          protecting personal information.  The creditor

 

         2          provided personal service to the Administrator

 

         3          with the understanding that it be kept private,

 

         4          and what we're trying to do is protect the

 

         5          information.

 

         6               But Your Honour's point regarding that we be

 

         7          asked to accept service and handle information,

 

         8          not necessarily disclosure information to the

 

         9          respondent, we would say that it's inappropriate

 

        10          to require the Administrator to accept service on

 

        11          behalf of the applicant because, in our

 

        12          submission, this is a private matter between the

 

        13          parties that does not involve Maintenance

 

        14          Enforcement.  The task of locating the applicant

 

        15          and expending funds to effect service on the same

 

        16          should not be borne by the Administrator.  This

 

        17          is the respondent's responsibility.  To grant the

 

        18          Respondent's application for substituted service

 

        19          on the Administrator would set an unwanted

 

        20          precedent that could open the floodgates to

 

        21          further orders and additional costs for the

 

        22          Administrator.  The Administrator therefore asks

 

        23          that the respondent's application be dismissed

 

        24          with respect to the application for sub-service.

 

        25               Subject to any questions, those are my

 

        26          submissions.

 

        27      THE COURT:             If I could ask you one

 

 

 

 

 

 

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         1          question.  When you appeared in front of Justice

 

         2          Smallwood, you agreed to the order.  Correct?

 

         3      MR. BUCHANAN:          That's right.

 

         4      THE COURT:             At that point, you thought

 

         5          there was an existing order in Alberta.

 

         6      MR. BUCHANAN:          At that point, we thought that

 

         7          -- I believe this is a Northwest Territories

 

         8          order.

 

         9      THE COURT:             You thought that the order had

 

        10          been transferred to Alberta.

 

        11      MR. BUCHANAN:          Right.  So, at that point, my

 

        12          information from the client was that our file was

 

        13          closed and that the file -- that we had advised

 

        14          the applicant to register with her office, which

 

        15          is Alberta.

 

        16      THE COURT:             So the only difference between

 

        17          today and then is the fact that the file has been

 

        18          closed.

 

        19      MR. BUCHANAN:          The only difference is that we

 

        20          now know that -- well, one of the differences is

 

        21          the file is closed.  The other difference is that

 

        22          we know that -- my client had contacted their

 

        23          colleagues in Alberta and found out that indeed

 

        24          she had not actually registered.

 

        25      THE COURT:             So it's not a question of how

 

        26          much information was available to the Director,

 

        27          it's a question of whether a file has been opened

 

 

 

 

 

 

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         1          or closed, really.

 

         2      MR. BUCHANAN:          With respect to the wording of

 

         3          the order, it was our understanding that she

 

         4          would have registered with Alberta.  That's what

 

         5          she was told to do.

 

         6      THE COURT:             No, but what I'm getting at is

 

         7          your concerns, all of your concerns with respect

 

         8          to the Privacy Act and the rest of the concerns

 

         9          about the propriety of this have all arisen based

 

        10          on one simple discovery, which is that she's no

 

        11          longer an active client as opposed to an inactive

 

        12          client because she hasn't had the order

 

        13          transferred.  Correct?

 

        14      MR. BUCHANAN:          Right.

 

        15      THE COURT:             So you had no concerns before

 

        16          about the use of this information for exactly

 

        17          this purpose.

 

        18      MR. BUCHANAN:          Well, the information we were

 

        19          to provide was the name of the jurisdiction in

 

        20          which she would have registered, which is

 

        21          Alberta, which the applicant -- or the Respondent

 

        22          had already known.

 

        23      THE COURT:             But, again, you were acting on

 

        24          behalf of this Director and you were quite happy

 

        25          to pass this order on -- or pass the

 

        26          substitutional service on to another similar

 

        27          organization.  Correct?  You didn't see any

 

 

 

 

 

 

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         1          impropriety with it.

 

         2      MR. BUCHANAN:          No, we had consented to

 

         3          providing the information and that was the limit

 

         4          of our consent.  I mean, we -- whether the other

 

         5          jurisdiction would accept sub-service is an

 

         6          entirely different matter.  We're not aware

 

         7          whether they would have or not.

 

         8      THE COURT:             Okay.  Thank you.

 

         9      MR. LARGE:             Just in response, Your Honour.

 

        10          I appreciate that my friend has spent a lot of

 

        11          time preparing for his response this morning

 

        12          based on the provisions of the Access to

 

        13          Information and Protection of Privacy Act, but

 

        14          you won't find anywhere in our Notice of Motion a

 

        15          request for the Director of Maintenance

 

        16          Enforcement to provide us with Ms. Sassie's

 

        17          address.

 

        18      THE COURT:             I've got that, Mr. Large.

 

        19          Thank you.

 

        20      MR. LARGE:             So it's totally irrelevant,

 

        21          the concerns expressed by my friend on the

 

        22          Privacy Act.

 

        23               Then we -- the way Legal Aid works, we got

 

        24          a, we got a referral, and our instructions are,

 

        25          from our administrator, to review the file and

 

        26          prepare an opinion.  So we want to see that the

 

        27          file has some merit before we spend time on it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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         1          So while this evidence is not before the Court, I

 

         2          did a quick calculation based on the financial

 

         3          disclosure that I got from my client with the

 

         4          assistance of the court worker, and I believe

 

         5          that if this matter gets before a court, which is

 

         6          what we're trying to do, his arrears will be

 

         7          reduced to zero.  He will have overpaid.  But

 

         8          that's not evidence before the Court yet.

 

         9               But it's important that this matter proceed

 

        10          on behalf of Mr. Klondike.  I mean, it's fine for

 

        11          Maintenance Enforcement to say, you know, this is

 

        12          not what we do and, you know, we'll just take

 

        13          your paycheck and we'll cancel your passport and

 

        14          we'll grab your driver's licence and as soon as

 

        15          you get any money coming from any source we know

 

        16          of, we'll grab that, but, gosh, we just can't --

 

        17          we might open the floodgates of litigation.

 

        18          Well, you know what, I hope it does because I

 

        19          think this matter should be resolved through a

 

        20          legislation amendment, but that's not for me or

 

        21          you to decide at this point.  If Maintenance

 

        22          Enforcement has these powers of financial ruin in

 

        23          some case -- to some respondent, the least they

 

        24          should be able to do is accept service on behalf

 

        25          of their client.  Ms. Sassie was their client and

 

        26          they've given us the proof that we suspected was

 

        27          there, they know where she is, or at least they

 

 

 

 

 

 

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         1          knew in April.  So that's our only recourse, Your

 

         2          Honour.

 

         3               We're dealing with an illiterate litigant

 

         4          who lives hundreds of miles from Yellowknife, and

 

         5          for him to go and try to contact the former

 

         6          lawyer when he wasn't even in court himself, he

 

         7          couldn't read or write the documents that were

 

         8          served on him, that's a ridiculous standard to

 

         9          put him through.  So I'm seeking the order as

 

        10          requested (indiscernible) two of them.

 

        11      MR. BUCHANAN:          Your Honour, I just have two

 

        12          points, if I may.

 

        13      THE COURT:             Sure.

 

        14      MR. BUCHANAN:          First, going back to your

 

        15          question regarding the ATIPP Act and -- I mean, I

 

        16          guess this is a moot point, but I would just

 

        17          point out that under subsection 43, it says that

 

        18          we can only use the information for the purpose

 

        19          for which it was collected.

 

        20               And then regarding my friend's points

 

        21          regarding what Maintenance Enforcement can do,

 

        22          that's all laid out in the Maintenance

 

        23          Enforcement Act.  And we do have significant

 

        24          powers with respect to the debtor such as

 

        25          collecting information, garnishing wages,

 

        26          reporting to CRA, et cetera.  It's very limited

 

        27          with respect to the creditor.  In fact, it's

 

 

 

 

 

 

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         1          almost silent on the creditor.  And so we only

 

         2          have the powers granted to us by legislation.

 

         3          And so within the Act, there is no authority for

 

         4          us to accept service of these documents and to

 

         5          expend the costs.

 

         6      THE COURT:             But there's no specific

 

         7          prohibition against it either, is there?

 

         8      MR. BUCHANAN:          No, there's no --

 

         9      THE COURT:             It's simply not addressed.

 

        10          Correct?

 

        11      MR. BUCHANAN:          It's not addressed.  But,

 

        12          again, this is -- if Your Honour were to grant

 

        13          the order, this is a cost that will come out of

 

        14          the Administrator's pockets, it's not something

 

        15          that we're funded for, and, in my submission, it

 

        16          would open the floodgates, because I know that

 

        17          Legal Aid office would actually use this order

 

        18          quite --

 

        19      THE COURT:             Let me ask you this.  If the

 

        20          order was limited to attempting to contact the

 

        21          respondent at her known address, what's the cost?

 

        22      MR. BUCHANAN:          It would be quite minimal.

 

        23          But, again, my -- going to my first point, in my

 

        24          submission, the respondent has not made

 

        25          sufficient efforts to get the order in the first

 

        26          place.

 

        27      THE COURT:             Thank you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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         1               With respect to Rule 38(1) and (2), I accept

 

         2          the guidance of Justice Cooper finding that the

 

         3          test is, in fact, quite strict, but that

 

         4          strictness has to be interpreted in light of the

 

         5          particular circumstances of the parties involved.

 

         6               I am told by Mr. Large that the applicant is

 

         7          an illiterate person who lives some three hours'

 

         8          drive away from the nearest court worker and that

 

         9          his ability to undertake a search for his former

 

        10          spouse is limited.  Given those concerns, I do

 

        11          find that the strict test has been met.

 

        12               With respect to the application of the ATIPP

 

        13          provisions, as Mr. Large has commented and as I

 

        14          have commented earlier, there is no anticipated

 

        15          requirement for the Director to disclose any of

 

        16          its private information or the private

 

        17          information of the respondent and, as such, it is

 

        18          my finding that the ATIPP provisions do not

 

        19          apply.  Even if they did apply, the sections that

 

        20          have been referred to deal with disclosure, not

 

        21          with use.

 

        22               Mr. Buchanan has quite ably argued that this

 

        23          sort of thing was not contemplated -- or is not

 

        24          to be found in the legislation.  But there are a

 

        25          lot of gaps in legislation.  There are empty

 

        26          spaces into which the Court can interpret

 

        27          reasonable responses to requests.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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         1               It is also a troubling argument, in my

 

         2          respectful view, that the only issue that

 

         3          Maintenance Enforcement can consider is the

 

         4          actual enforcement of its order, not the

 

         5          variation of its order, not the reasonableness of

 

         6          the order upon review, simply the strict

 

         7          enforcement of it, and that does not persuade me.

 

         8               It is no major undertaking for the Director

 

         9          to attempt to contact the respondent at the

 

        10          previous known address.

 

        11               Substitutional service will not be effective

 

        12          if the order requires the Director to do

 

        13          something that they are not able to do, and I do

 

        14          not propose to push the costs of skip tracers and

 

        15          other more expensive search vehicles onto the

 

        16          director.

 

        17               So I will make the order granting

 

        18          substitutional service with the limitation that

 

        19          the substitutional service is limited to

 

        20          attempting to contact the respondent at the

 

        21          previous known address.  I do not see any reason

 

        22          why this could not be done between now and the

 

        23          next family chambers.  Is it one month from now

 

        24          or what are we talking?

 

        25      MR. LARGE:             We meet every week, Your

 

        26          Honour.

 

        27      THE COURT:             That is a bit soon.  Different

 

 

 

 

 

 

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         1          jurisdiction.

 

         2      MR. LARGE:             Perhaps, Your Honour -- I have

 

         3          some holidays coming.  Perhaps you could put it

 

         4          over until November.  (Indiscernible).

 

         5      THE COURT:             Suggest a date in November

 

         6          then.

 

         7      MR. LARGE:             November the 5th, Your Honour.

 

         8      THE COURT:             Very good.  Thank you.  I will

 

         9          put it over to November the 5th.  At that time,

 

        10          Mr. Buchanan, all we are looking for is an

 

        11          indication of whether or not you were able to

 

        12          contact the respondent.  If not, we will have to

 

        13          consider other options.  Thank you.

 

        14      MR. BUCHANAN:          Yes, Your Honour.  Just to

 

        15          clarify, you're asking us to send a letter to --

 

        16          or contact the applicant and then see whether

 

        17          she's responsive at that address?

 

        18      THE COURT:             Yes.

 

        19      MR. BUCHANAN:          That's the extent of it?

 

        20      THE COURT:             That is the extent of it.

 

        21      MR. BUCHANAN:          Okay.  And I'll report back on

 

        22          the 5th.

 

        23      THE COURT:             Use whatever contact

 

        24          information you have.

 

        25      MR. BUCHANAN:          Okay.

 

        26      THE COURT:             That is what I am asking you

 

        27          to do.  I do not want to be specifically limiting

 

 

 

 

 

 

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         1          it to that address.  The order should reflect

 

         2          that it is using the information that you have at

 

         3          your disposal to contact the Respondent, but I am

 

         4          not requiring you to go beyond that.

 

         5      MR. BUCHANAN:          Okay.

 

         6      THE COURT:             Thank you.

 

         7      MR. LARGE:             That's fine, Your Honour.

 

         8          I'll draft an order.  I'll have a copy, a draft

 

         9          copy, over to my friend so he can review it

 

        10          before it comes to the clerk.

 

        11      THE COURT:             Thank you.

 

        12      MR. LARGE:             Thank you, Your Honour.  Those

 

        13          are all my matters today.

 

        14      THE COURT:             Thank you, Mr. Large.

 

        15      (ADJOURNED TO NOVEMBER 5, 2015, AT 10 A.M.)

 

        16               .................................

 

        17

 

        18

 

        19                        Certified Pursuant to Rule 723

                                  of the Rules of Court

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        22

                                  Jane Romanowich, CSR(A)

        23                        Court Reporter

 

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 You are being directed to the most recent version of the statute which may not be the version considered at the time of the judgment.