c9

Stumble Upon

del.icio.us

Digg

Facebook

Print

Email

Speak Up

FREDERICTON - More children are receiving their court-ordered support payments as the result of new, stricter enforcement measures that came into effect on Feb. 11.

Since these measures took effect, enforcement officers have collected significant amounts during the past six months from parents who have fallen behind on their support.

“I am committed to ensuring that the children in this province receive the court-ordered support they deserve,” said Justice and Consumer Affairs Minister T. J. Burke. “The success of this initiative is encouraging as it is part of a larger initiative to reform the family court system so that families dealing with a breakdown are no longer held in legal limbo due to backlogs in the courts.”

One of the most effective measures has been the suspension of drivers licences for those who fall behind in their support payments. Currently, 43 have lost their driving privileges, while 51 made arrangements to pay to avoid the suspension. On these files alone, more than $100,000 has been collected since the warning letters were issued.

“What we are seeing is that the majority of payers who receive the letters saying they will lose their driving privileges in 30 days actually pay up to avoid losing their licence,” said Burke.

The new enforcement tools include:

Suspension of driving privileges if a payor is more than four months in arrears on support payments if repayment arrangements are not made within 30 days of notification.

Reporting of a payor who is more than three months in arrears to a credit bureau.

Corporations owned or controlled by the payor can now be found liable for support order payments.

Payment orders can now be issued to any person who owes the payor money and can be used to access money in a bank account.

The authority to demand information from any person or public party that is determined will assist in the enforcement of a case against a support payor.