Child Support Arrears Forgiveness in Ontario: Can Debt Be Reduced?

Falling behind on child support can feel overwhelming, especially when the balance keeps growing. Many payors ask whether arrears can simply be wiped out. The honest answer is that sometimes they can be reduced, but not by asking the enforcement office to forgive them.

This article explains who can reduce arrears, how courts approach it, what the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) does and does not do, and what to do if you have a notice in hand. It is general information, not legal advice.

What FRO can and cannot do

FRO cannot reduce or forgive arrears. It enforces the order as written. Only a judge can change the amount of support in an order, and FRO cannot do it.

What FRO does offer is a way to deal with arrears you cannot pay in a lump sum. It asks you to contact it right away if you fall behind, and it offers a voluntary arrears payment schedule, which involves a proposal form and a financial statement.

Two routes to reducing arrears

Reducing or cancelling arrears requires either a court to vary or rescind the order, or a written agreement from the recipient filed with FRO. The recipient can also ask FRO in writing to discontinue enforcement. What a recipient can do privately beyond that process depends on the facts, so get advice before relying on an informal arrangement.

How courts approach reducing past support

Before a court varies child support under the Divorce Act, it must find a change of circumstances as provided for in the applicable guidelines. For a table-based order, a change in circumstances is any change that would result in a different child support order.

For retroactive decreases or rescinding arrears under the Divorce Act, the Supreme Court of Canada set out a framework in Colucci v. Colucci, 2021 SCC 24. The payor must show a past change in circumstances. The court's discretion is guided by a presumption in favour of decreasing support retroactively to the date of effective notice to the recipient, capped at three years before formal notice. Bad faith and lack of disclosure weigh against the payor.

That case concerns the Divorce Act. Orders made under other laws may be approached differently, so whether it applies to your order is worth confirming with a lawyer.

How timing affects your own situation depends on your order and your facts, so it is worth confirming with a lawyer. Being open about your finances matters too, since lack of disclosure counts against the payor.

What enforcement can look like while arrears remain

Until the order is changed or the arrears are dealt with, FRO can use a range of enforcement tools.

• Bank garnishment: 100% of a sole account, no more than 50% of a joint account, held for 30 days.
• Federal payments: tax refunds, EI, CPP, OAS and similar can be reduced, with up to 50% of income-type payments such as EI and CPP and 100% of tax refunds and savings bond interest.
• Driver's licence suspension: you get a notice with a deadline, and before it passes you can pay all arrears, enter a voluntary payment plan or get a court refraining order.
• Credit reporting: if no payment has been made in more than 60 days, you get a notice of intent and must respond within the deadline in it, and the report stays on your credit history for six years from the date reported.
• Default hearing: you have 10 days to act on the notice and must attend even if you file nothing; the judge may order payment plans, a payment by a set date, a change to the order, or jail for up to 180 days.
• Other tools include passport suspension, liens, writs of seizure and sale, and lottery prizes over $1,000.

A $400 administrative fee may be charged when FRO takes enforcement action.

Interest and what to do next

Interest can be part of the arrears. It is claimable if the order states an interest rate, and if the order has no interest provision it may be claimed under the Courts of Justice Act and Family Law Rules for orders made on or after certain dates. FRO takes enforcement action only on interest that accrued because the payor did not comply with the order. Which interest rate applies to your arrears depends on your order, so it is worth confirming with a lawyer.

• Contact FRO right away and ask about a voluntary payment schedule.
• Read every notice carefully and note its deadline, because a refraining order cannot be obtained after the deadline passes.
• Gather proof of any change in income, job loss or illness, with dates.
• Keep records of what you have paid and when.
• Speak to a lawyer about applying to change the order, since FRO cannot do it.

Frequently asked questions