Support

Enforcing Support

The Maintenance Enforcement Office (MEO) handles the enforcement of support payments. This includes:

  • child and spousal support orders or agreements
  • child support orders or agreements that have been recalculated
  • arbitration awards

Once registered, payments are made through the MEO. Payments are monitored and, if a payment is missed or is late, the MEO can take action to enforce the order, agreement or award.

Either party to a support order, agreement or award can register the order with the MEO. People will typically do this if they have concerns about the other party making the payments. People may also want to register so that the MEO can keep track of payments or so they do not need to deal directly with the other party.

To register, you will need to fill out an enrolment application. You can get this online from the MEO or from a Court of King’s Bench. You will also need a copy of your support order, agreement or award. Agreements need to be filed with the court and stamped before they can be registered.

If payments are not being made, the MEO can take action including:

  • taking wages, other income or bank accounts and using this money to pay support owing
  • taking payments from the federal government such as Employment Insurance, Canada Pension, Old Age Security, grain advances, Revenue Canada refunds or GST rebates and using them to pay support owing
  • seizing and selling personal property, such as a vehicle, and using the proceeds of the sale to pay support owing
  • putting a lien on any real property so it cannot be sold, re-mortgaged or leased, unless payment arrangements are made with the MEO
  • suspending the payor’s driver’s, fishing and hunting licences
  • requiring the payor to appear in court to explain why payments have not been made which can result in the payor being put in jail for up to 90 days for contempt of the support order or agreement

Some of these actions can be taken by individuals themselves if the order is not registered with the MEO. However, individuals cannot do things like suspend the person’s driver’s licence or require the person to appear in court. Individuals who are enforcing agreements, orders or awards on their own are responsible for the costs of doing this. Because certain procedures must be followed to take these actions, individuals trying to collect on their own may need the help of a lawyer.