Community Legal Information Association of PEI, Inc.

Maintenance Enforcement in Prince Edward Island

The Maintenance Enforcement Office is located in the law courts building at 42 Water Street, Charlottetown. The telephone number is 368-6010.

Definitions:
Attachment: The seizure of a payor's property (in support cases this is usually the payor's income) so that it can be used to pay a debt (outstanding support payments).

Default: Failure to make support payments as agreed to in a support agreement/order.

Garnish: To "attach" wages or other property to make a payment.

Jurisdiction: Province or Territory responsible for enforcing support agreements or court orders.

Payee: The person who receives support payments and the person who usually registers with the Maintenance Enforcement Program.

Payor: The person who makes support payments.

Wage Attachment: Deduction of a set amount of money from a person's salary, before the employer makes out a paycheque (to make sure that support is paid). This is done at the request of Maintenance Enforcement.

What is the Maintenance Enforcement Program?
Maintenance Enforcement is a free program established by the government of Prince Edward Island to collect support payments written into a support agreement or court order. This service can be used no matter where the payor lives in Canada. (It may also be used for some States in the U.S.A. and for some other countries where reciprocal agreements exist.)

How Does the Maintenance Enforcement Program Get Involved in Collecting Support?
When a Court orders support, or the payee and the payor sign a support order or agreement, the Maintenance Enforcement Program must be informed. This is usually done by the payee or the payee's lawyer who provides a copy of the agreement/order and a completed one-page filing information form to the Program. Information about the payor, including name, address, income and place of employment is included in the information given to the Program.

Maintenance Enforcement does not have an agency that tracks payors. The office has no way of finding out where the payor works apart from the information given in the support agreement /order and in the filing form. If this information is not provided, enforcement is not possible.

When the Maintenance Enforcement Program receives the agreement or order and the filing form, the case is entered into the automated computer system and a letter with a payroll deduction form is sent to the payor asking that he/she contact the office within 14 days to say:
  • how payments will be made; or
  • to return the completed payroll deduction form.

    Once the payroll deduction form has been signed it is the employer's responsibility to deduct the correct amount from the payor's salary and send the payment to the payee.

    What Happens if the Payor Doesn't Contact Maintenance Enforcement?
    If the payor fails to contact Maintenance Enforcement, the Program will send a payment order to his/her employer. If the employer is an established company, provincial government or federal government, it usually takes about four to six weeks from the time the case is first registered with the Program before the first deduction is made from the payor's salary.

    Do Employers Always Cooperate?
    No, sometimes:
    • employers see the deductions as a nuisance and try to convince the employee to handle them;
    • employers forget to make the deductions and the only way this is caught in the Program is when the payee calls to say "I did not get my cheque;"
    • employers have such small businesses that they claim they cannot do the bookkeeping around payroll deductions; and
    • payors change jobs frequently so the payroll deduction process never really works properly.

    An employer who does not cooperate may be taken before the Court to give their reasons.

    If the payor changes jobs often or if the Maintenance Enforcement Program cannot find out where he/she is employed, wage attachments cannot be used for support payment.

    What Happens if the Payor Stops Working?
    If the payor is receiving employment insurance (EI or UI) this can also be "attached." To do this, correct information has to be supplied on the filing information form. The Maintenance Enforcement Program must apply to the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Unit (FOAEA) of the federal government to intercept this money. This unit works with every enforcement program in Canada.

    There is a cost of $38 a year to the payor for attachment of employment insurance payments. This is usually taken off the first payment. If EI payments have been held up because of this cost the payee may call either the EI program or the FOAEA for information about the status of the attachment. The toll-free number for the FOAEA is 1-800-267-7777.

    How Else Can Maintenance Enforcement Collect Unpaid Support Payments?
    Maintenance Enforcement can attempt to collect unpaid support by:
    • garnishment of a portion of the payor's wages;
    • asking the federal government to apply some or all of the payor's income tax refund, employment insurance payments, old age supplement, Canada Pension Plan payments or GST rebates to unpaid support;
    • suspending the payor's driving licence;
    • asking the federal government to suspend the payor's passport;
    • asking the federal government to suspend certain other licences such as a commercial seaman's licence or aviation licence; or
    • taking the payor to court for a default hearing.

    The decision about how to enforce payment is made by the Maintenance Enforcement Program, not by the payee.

    Can Maintenance Enforcement Collect if a Payor Lives in Another Province?
    Yes. When the full address is given on the filing information form, the case will be sent to the payor's home province or territory for enforcement. Once this happens the case is enforced by the Program in that jurisdiction and is no longer the responsibility of PEI's Maintenance Enforcement Program. The PEI office can request status updates and give information to the other jurisdiction but the responsibility of enforcing the file no longer rests in PEI.

    If the Payor Has Defaulted on Payments...
    The payee must contact the Maintenance Enforcement office to say that payment has not been made and to give them the current address of the payor. Maintenance Enforcement will issue a default notice, delivered by the Sheriff, requiring the payor to attend court to explain why support has not been paid. Two days a month are assigned for support cases (one in Summerside and one in Charlottetown).

    If the Sheriff cannot find the payor the case cannot go ahead, so it is very important that the address is correct.

    What Can the Payor Do When Circumstances Change?
    A support obligation is a debt that is owed and it takes priority over other debts such as credit cards. The Maintenance Enforcement Program has a mandate to enforce agreements/orders and will try to collect just like any other collection agency.

    It is the responsibility of the payor to have the support agreement/order changed if he/she is no longer able to make payments. If the payor has been laid off work, taken long-term sick leave, or otherwise had a major change in circumstances, Maintenance Enforcement must be informed and an application made to court for a variation of the existing support agreement/order. Going to court for a variation may lower the amount of support that must be paid.

    The Maintenance Enforcement Program will do everything in its power to enforce the terms of an agreement or order. However, if the payor has no income, is on welfare assistance or living with his/her parents with no income, then the terms of the agreement/order cannot be enforced. The payor must have some identifiable source of income in order for the Program to be effective. Arrears continue to build up just like any other debt, so if the payor gets a job and starts to receive an income, the total amount of arrears will have to be paid.

    Since the Maintenance Enforcement Program began in Prince Edward Island in 1988, over $27 million has been collected in child/family/spousal support payments.

    For more information or to register your support agreement/order contact:
    Maintenance Enforcement, Law Courts Building, 42 Water Street, Charlottetown, telephone: 368-6010

    If you wish to speak to a lawyer about support payments, contact:
    Lawyer Referral Service at 1-800-240-9798 (892-0853 in Charlottetown). A half hour appointment with a lawyer will cost $10 plus tax.

    For information about the federal Child Support Guidelines contact:
    Child Support Guidelines Clerks:
    Telephone: Charlottetown, 368-6220
    Summerside, 888-8188.


    This pamphlet is a joint project of Community Legal Information and the Maintenance Enforcement Program. It does not give a complete description of the Maintenance Enforcement Program. If you are having a problem paying or receiving support please contact the Maintenance Enforcement office or your lawyer for information and assistance.

    Community Legal Information Association of Prince Edward Island (CLIA) is a charitable association funded by the Department of Justice, Canada; Community Services and Attorney General, PEI; the Law Foundation of Prince Edward Island and other funding sources. CLIA provides Islanders with useful, understandable information about the law and the justice system. You may support the Association through volunteering, becoming a member or by making a donation.

    Charitable Registration Number: 11887 0757RR

    March 2000
    ISBN 1-894267-04-4

    ©  2000, Community Legal Information Association of PEI, Inc.