If you do not pay support as required, we can use a variety of administrative and legal measures in respect of your income and assets to collect your debt.

We will use these mesures if:

• you do not pay your debt in a lump sum within 10 days of receiving a demand for payment;
• you do not reach a payment agreement with us within 10 days of receiving a demand for payment; or
• you fail to uphold our payment agreement.

In addition, we automatically charge collection fees when any collection measures are used or when, after issuing a demand for payment, we institute proceedings to seize your property for the first time.

Administrative measures

Allocation

We can apply all or part of a refund or any amount owed to you by a government body (for example, an income tax refund) to the payment of your debt.

Legal hypothec

If you do not make your support payments, we can register a legal hypothec on your movable or immovable property for the benefit of the support recipient. Once the hypothec has been published in the appropriate register, we can exercise a hypothecary recourse such as a sale under judicial authority.

Seizure by garnishment

In some cases, we may seize a sum of money or income in the hands of a third person to pay or reduce your support debt. This person (the garnishee) could be your employer, your financial institution, one of your clients or any other physical or legal person who owes you money.

Upon receiving notice of the seizure, the garnishee must remit to us the amount you are owed. We can seize:

• the seizable portion of your income (through your employer);
• your bank account;
• your accounts receivable;
• your rental income (if you own rental property);
• any other amount a third party owes you.

Joint liability 

In some cases, we can hold a person who is related to you jointly liable for all or part of your debt if you take an action that favours this person to the detriment of your creditors. For example, if you transferred property to a person related to you for less than its actual value, we could exercise remedies against that person.

Suspension of a passport or federally issued licence or permit 

In some cases, we can ask the federal government to suspend (or refuse to issue) your:

• passport;
• pilot's licence or permit;
• marine training or competency certificate(s), or your marine navigation certificate.

Legal measures

Seizure and sale under judicial authority 

In some cases, we can have your movable and immovable property seized and sold under judicial authority.

The net proceeds of the sale will be applied to your debt.

If you are owed support but do not receive your payments, you do not have to do anything. We will detect that the payments have not been made and take the necessary steps to recover them.

Certificate

If you are the recipient of support and you have a debt under the support-payment collection program, we can issue a certificate attesting to the amount and payability of your debt. Once filed at the office of the Superior Court, the certificate becomes enforceable as if it were a court judgment and has all the effects of such a judgment. We can then take legal measures, including the seizure of your movable and immovable property and its sale under judicial authority.

If you are a third party, such as an employer, and you have a debt under the support-payment collection program, we can issue a certificate attesting to the amount and payability of your debt. Once filed at the office of the Superior Court, the certificate becomes enforceable as if it were a court judgment and has all the effects of such a judgment. We can then take legal measures, including the seizure of your movable and immovable property and its sale under judicial authority.