How does garnishment work in Ontario civil litigation to collect a debt?

Garnishment in Ontario is a court-supervised enforcement mechanism that allows a judgment creditor to collect money owed by intercepting payments that a third party (called the garnishee) owes to the judgment debtor. The most common targets are the debtor's employer (to garnish wages) and the debtor's bank (to garnish a bank account).

To initiate garnishment, you file a Notice of Garnishment with the court and serve it on the garnishee and the debtor. The garnishee is then legally required to pay a portion of the money it owes the debtor directly to the court, which then forwards it to the creditor. Failure by the garnishee to comply with a Notice of Garnishment can result in the garnishee becoming personally liable for the debt.

For wage garnishment, Ontario law protects a portion of the debtor's wages from being garnished — the specific amounts depend on the debtor's circumstances, and the Rules of Civil Procedure set out the calculations. Bank accounts are more straightforward — the garnishee (the bank) must pay over whatever is on deposit up to the judgment amount, subject to any priority claims.

Garnishment is a recurring enforcement tool for wage garnishment — new notices may need to be filed periodically if the debt is not satisfied in a single payment. Dealing with a debtor who frequently changes banks or employment requires persistence.