Can Your Driver's Licence Be Suspended for Unpaid Support in Manitoba?

If you are owed support and payments have stopped, or you are the one who has fallen behind, the idea of a suspended driver's licence can feel either like a lifeline or like a threat. Either way, it helps to know how the process generally works.

This article explains where licence suspension fits among Manitoba's enforcement tools, what usually comes before it, and what a payer can do to deal with the underlying problem.

This article covers the law of Manitoba.

Who enforces support in Manitoba

The Maintenance Enforcement Program (MEP) is part of the Family Resolution Service. It enforces court-ordered support, Child Support Service decisions, family law arbitration awards and some written agreements under The Family Support Enforcement Act, and it receives and monitors payments and acts on arrears. It does not enforce parenting or contact terms or property division, and it cannot change an order's payment terms.

Enrolling in MEP is optional unless the recipient receives social assistance and assigned payments to it. A recipient can opt out by filing a written statement with the director, but recipients on social assistance cannot opt out of this requirement. A recipient who is not in MEP should consult a lawyer about private enforcement, which is more limited.

Where licence suspension fits

MEP first works with the payor to get voluntary payment. If payments are not received as required, enforcement action could be taken, and the director chooses which action fits each case. So a suspension is not automatic and is not the first step.

Other tools that can come first or alongside

A support deduction notice can bind all wages that are or become due to the support payor, and an employer must respond within seven days after service and cannot charge a fee. A notice can reach almost any income or money asset, and a notice to a bank or credit union may freeze the account. MEP may also register liens against land or personal property, seek a preservation order, apply for a receiver or attach corporate assets.

There are limits. The Family Support Enforcement Act exempts $250 each month (or any greater amount prescribed) of wages and pension benefits from a support deduction notice, and it refers to a 90% limit on total wages and pension benefits bound by notices.

If a payor changes jobs, the notice lapses when the employer no longer owes wages, and a new employer or another income source can be served.

If you are the payer: dealing with the problem

The tools above are aimed at getting payments made. The most direct way to avoid escalation is to contact MEP and explain your situation. MEP can administratively suspend enforcement in whole or part on the payor's written request. A payor who wants arrears cancelled or payments lowered must apply to a judge for a variation. In adult-child cases, a payor can request a child status review and, if both parties agree, an approved form can change the enforced amount.

If the matter reaches a court enforcement hearing, the payor must show they did not wilfully fail to pay. The court may order arrears paid in full or by instalments, fine up to $10,000, and/or jail up to 200 days. Fines or jail do not erase the arrears.

How a licence is reinstated after a suspension, and what MEP will want first, depends on your file. MEP can tell you what applies to you, and a lawyer can help you plan around it.

What to do next

MEP can be reached by phone at 204-945-7133 or toll-free at 1-866-479-2717 about a file balance, payments or enforcement. By email, use ManitobaMEPInquiries@gov.mb.ca with your full name and file number; MEP aims to reply within 3 business days. Mail goes to 100 – 352 Donald Street, Winnipeg MB R3B 2H8, and in-person service was listed as currently unavailable.

• Find your MEP file number and check your balance.
• Keep proof of every payment you have made.
• Write down your income changes, job loss or other reasons for falling behind.
• Contact MEP early rather than waiting for enforcement.
• Talk to a lawyer if you need the order itself changed.

Frequently asked questions