About Support Enforcement

If you are a paying parent and you do not comply with your child support obligations then your child could suffer emotional stress and financial hardship. Both can have a negative effect on the well–being of children, especially if financial hardship continues for prolonged periods of time. Lack of compliance can also put pressure on Canadian taxpayers, who often have to take responsibility when parents choose not to meet their support obligations.

For all these reasons, the enforcement of support orders and agreements is important. The Government of Canada wants to ensure that children of divorced or separated parents get the financial support they need and to which they are entitled.

How Does Enforcement Work?

The provinces and territories have the main responsibility for enforcing support orders and agreements. All the provinces and territories have established Maintenance Enforcement Programs (MEP). If you need help enforcing your order or agreement, contact the MEP in your province or territory.

The federal government does not enforce support orders or agreements directly. It helps the provinces and territories to do this in a variety of ways through the Family Law Assistance Service. For example, provinces and territories can use two federal laws to enforce support orders and agreements. These laws are the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act (FOAEAA) and the Garnishment, Attachment and Pension Diversion Act (GAPDA).

The FOAEAA allows the federal government to:

• Search certain federal information banks to help find paying parents who have not complied with their order or agreement;
• Seize federal money; for example, income–tax refunds and Employment Insurance benefits owed to a support payer. The money seized is used to pay a support debt; and
• Deny passports and certain federal licences to payers who persistently fail to make their support payments.

Provinces and territories can use another federal law, the GAPDA, to enforce support orders. Under the GAPDA, federal employees’ salaries and pension benefits can be seized to pay family support debts.

When Payers and Recipients Do Not Live in the Same Province

All provinces and territories have reciprocity arrangements with each other as well as with a number of other countries. A reciprocity arrangement allows a province or territory to enforce a support order from a different province or territory, as well as from some foreign countries. This means that a support order can be enforced even if the payer and the recipient do not live in the same jurisdiction, as long as there is a reciprocity arrangement in place.

The federal government helps the provinces and territories to set up "reciprocity arrangements" with foreign countries on an ongoing basis.

What to Do if Your Situation Changes

Sometimes support payers cannot make their payments because they:

• have lost their jobs
• have a new job with a reduced salary
• have become disabled or
• have developed an illness.

If you are registered with a MEP and your income falls, it is important for you to contact your MEP immediately to discuss your difficulties.

Also important — if you and the other parent agree that a lower amount of support is appropriate for a period of time due to job loss, illness or disability, then any signed agreement or court order you already have must be changed in writing. Otherwise, the MEP will continue to enforce the original amount.

If your support order or agreement is registered with a Maintenance Enforcement Program, it is very important to notify them of any changes to the order or agreement.

Getting Help and Advice

Setting up agreements and getting court orders for support can be complicated and stressful. You are strongly advised to try to get advice from a family law lawyer even if you can only afford one or two consultations. In addition, your province or territory may have family justice services such as mediation that can help you and the other parent to reach an out-of-court agreement. Also, most provincial bar associations have lawyer referral services that can refer you to a lawyer who will offer the first consultation free or at a lower price than usual.

Facts You Need to Know

1. Canadian MEPs have a number of tools to help them enforce a support obligation. Refusing to pay, ignoring the MEP, or moving to another jurisdiction to avoid or delay paying support are not sensible actions to take. Any of these actions will likely result in legal and financial consequences for you. These consequences will increase your stress and the risk that your child will suffer hardship.
2. If you only have an informal or verbal agreement with the paying parent about how much child support will be paid, a MEP program will not be able to help you collect the support.
3. A MEP cannot establish an order or agreement on your behalf. It is your responsibility to arrange to get a court order or set up a formal agreement.

Further information

• Publications
• Helpful Tools
• Forms
• Family Law Assistance Services - FAQ TOPICS