Vol. 137, No. 4 — February 12, 2003

Registration
SOR/2003-30 23 January, 2003

FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION ACT

Consular Fees (Specialized Services) Regulations

P.C. 2003-4 23 January, 2003

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Treasury Board, pursuant to paragraph 19(1)(a) (see footnote a)  of the Financial Administration Act, hereby makes the annexed Consular Fees (Specialized Services) Regulations.

CONSULAR FEES (SPECIALIZED SERVICES) REGULATIONS

INTERPRETATION

1. In these Regulations, "locally engaged employee" has the same meaning as the definition "employee" in section 2 of the Locally-Engaged Staff Employment Regulations.

FEES

2. Subject to section 4, the fee to be paid for a specialized service set out in column 1 of the schedule, that is provided at a mission by a consular officer or locally engaged employee, is the fee set out in column 2.

3. Subject to section 4, the fee to be paid for a specialized service set out in column 1 of the schedule, that is provided by a consular officer or locally engaged employee elsewhere than at a mission, is the fee set out in column 2 plus an amount equal to the expenses of transportation, food, lodging, incidentals and other expenses incurred by that officer or employee while providing that service, determined at the applicable rates set out in the Treasury Board Travel Directive.

EXEMPTIONS

4. No fee is payable in respect of a specialized service that is provided

(a) to a person who is destitute or to whom overriding humanitarian or compassionate considerations apply;
(b) to a person who is a Canadian or foreign official, if the service is requested in their official capacity;
(c) for a naval vessel or service aircraft of a Commonwealth country;
(d) for the purposes of the Citizenship Act; or
(e) for the purpose of the payment of any remuneration, pension or allowance by the Government of Canada or the government of a province, or for the purposes of any other official business of those governments.

REPEAL

5. The Consular Fees Regulations (see footnote 1)  are repealed.

COMING INTO FORCE

6. These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered.

SCHEDULE
(Sections 2 and 3)

Item	Column 1 Specialized Service	Column 2 Fee
1.	Administering an oath, receiving an affidavit, declaration or affirmation or attesting any document bearing a signature	$50 per document
2.	Attesting the execution of a document, other than a certificate of origin or a document in support of a consignment of goods	$50 per document
3.	Authenticating the signature and seal of a foreign authority, including an officially authorized translator	$50 per document
4.	Obtaining a legalization or other certification from a foreign authority in respect of any document (in addition to costs charged by the foreign authority, if any)	$50 per document
5.	Executing a document or preparing an exhibit or a parcel not otherwise provided for in this schedule	$50 per document
6.	Initialling alterations in any document not prepared by a consular officer	$25 per page
7.	Uniting documents and sealing their fastening	$30
8.	Preparing in English or French any certificate, affidavit, declaration or other document not otherwise provided for in this schedule, excluding any printed words where printed forms are used (in addition to the fee set out in item 1, 2 or 5, if applicable)
	(a) less than 200 words	$30 per document
	(b) 200 words or more and less than 500 words	$60 per document
	(c) 500 words or more and less than 1,000 words	$80 per document
	(d) 1,000 words or more	$0.10 per word
9.	Making a copy of a document not otherwise provided for in this schedule
	(a) by word processing, for 100 words or less	$30 per page
	(b) by photographic process	$3 per copy
10.	Certifying a copy of a document	$20 per page
11.	Preparing, signing and sealing a declaration of existence	$30 per document
12.	Signing and sealing a declaration of existence	$20 per document
13.	Making an unofficial translation of a document, from one to the other of Canada's official languages, from a foreign language to English or French, or from English or French to a foreign language
	(a) 100 words or less	$15
	(b) over 100 words	$0.22 per word or $60 per letter size page, whichever is the lesser
14.	Issuing a letter addressed to a foreign authority for the granting of a visa, a residence permit, an exit permit or any other similar service	$50 per letter
15.	Obtaining a copy of a document in the registers or records of the local authorities	$125 per document
16.	Distributing the personal effects of a deceased Canadian citizen and administering their estate in full or in part, where the total current market value of the personal effects and the estate or part of the estate is
	(a) less than CAN$500	No charge
	(b) CAN$500 or more and less than CAN$3,000	$100
	(c) CAN$3,000 or more	$200
17.	Transmitting of documents in private legal matters by formal note to the local authorities, including any necessary certification	$50 per document
18.	Service of documents in private legal matters performed at the mission, if an affidavit of service is provided	$50 per document
19.	Service of documents in private legal matters performed where the mission must prepare or provide an affidavit of service	$50 per document
20.	Where a Canadian consular officer is authorized by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade to be named as a Commissioner by a Canadian court to take testimony from witnesses abroad for use in Canadian court proceedings
	(a) for services of a consular officer acting as a Commissioner, within the consular premises	$150 per person per hour or part of an hour
	(b) for sending a notice to appear, in the language of the country concerned	$50 per notice
	(c) for the swearing of witnesses, court stenographers, translators, legal counsel or any other person	$50 per person
	(d) for certifying a transcript as correct, including uniting documents and sealing their fastening	$60
	(e) for the services of an employee of the mission as an interpreter	$60 per person per hour or part of an hour
	(f) for the services of a stenographer or typist supplied by the mission	$60 per person per hour or part of an hour
21.	Preparing and sending a communication for the primary benefit of non-government persons, organizations and groups
	(a) less than 200 words	$30 per document
	(b) 200 words or more and less than 500 words	$60 per document
	(c) 500 words or more and less than 1,000 words	$80 per document
	(d) 1,000 words or more	$0.10 per word
22.	Making a toll telephone call for the primary benefit of non-government persons, organizations and groups	cost of call
23.	Setting up and maintaining a trust account to transfer funds to, or on behalf of, a Canadian citizen in need in a foreign country	$70 per account, per year or part of a year
24.	Arranging for and effecting the transfer of private or public funds from Canada or elsewhere to the mission	$75 per transfer

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Description

In addition to the emergency services of the consular program, specialized services such as legal, notary, transferring private and public funds, are provided as part of the consular program at our missions abroad.

As part of the government's commitment to have direct users of government services pay a larger share for those services, it has been decided that it is necessary to increase the fees for these specialized services, introduced as the Consular Fees Regulations under the Financial Administration Act, first made in 1958 and last revised in 1988.

Section 19 of the Financial Administration Act empowers the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Treasury Board and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, to prescribe by regulation, fees or charges for services provided by, or on behalf of, her Majesty in right of Canada.

This new consular fee was a cost-recovery initiative that was developed to meet Program Review Phase I targets. This fee does not represent new revenue for the Consular Affairs Bureau. However, fees for specialized services will continue to be levied independently as the cost of providing these specialized services was excluded from the calculation of the cost of delivering consular services.

As mentioned, the standard global fee schedule for specialized services has not been revised since 1988. Fees do not reflect the cost of providing the services, and in most cases, the fees currently charged for specialized services at missions abroad are significantly lower than those charged by local professionals. The costs of providing specialized consular services are in the order of $2.3 million per annum.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs has recommended to Her Excellency to increase the amounts charged for specialized services in order to offset the costs of providing these services.

Alternatives

Although various alternatives were considered, it was determined that none were feasible if the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) was to continue to provide these services.

Under the current fee structure, it is believed that Canadians are taking advantage of DFAIT's low rates over that of the higher fees in the private sector. While one aspect of the increase in fees is to encourage Canadians to seek these services from local professionals by making the fee more comparable with private sector rates, there are a number of locations around the world where these services are not provided. In addition, services are often provided to those who feel more confident in the ability of Canadian Missions to provide a quality service. It has been a policy of the Canadian Government that the provision of a full range of consular services is essential to support Canadians conducting business or private affairs while residing in or travelling to other countries. These services form an essential component of that policy and their provision cannot be eliminated.

The increase in fees will ensure that the consular program will continue to provide quality services which are accessible and affordable by all Canadian users.

Benefits and Costs

The Government will incur no significant costs in planning, implementing or enforcing this change. The primary consumers of these services are Canadians residing or travelling abroad. Charging users a fee more equivalent to the cost of providing the service is fair. The revenue generated by this increase will be sufficient to cover the cost of providing these services.

Treasury Board policy and regulations require that funds raised through specific cost recovery programs be used specifically in support of the services against which the fees are collected. As a consequence, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade commits itself to this policy and will ensure that the funds are applied to the cost of delivering consular services both in Canada and abroad. DFAIT will certify annually through the Annual Reference Level Update (ARLU) revenues generated through the consular service fee and that consular specialized services fees were used exclusively for the delivery of consular services.

This cost recovery proposal satisfies the requirements of the Government's new cost recovery policy.

Consultation

The Secretary of the Treasury Board and the Department of Justice were consulted and concur with these Regulations.

Compliance and Enforcement

The revised fee structure will be self-enforcing in that the fee is payable when the service is provided.

Contact

H.G. Pardy
Director General
Consular Affairs Bureau
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

Footnote a 

S.C. 1991, c. 24, s. 6

Footnote 1 

SOR/88-377

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