A creditor is garnishing my wages in Ontario — can I stop it?
A garnishment issued on a default judgment can often be attacked by moving to set aside the judgment, and in any event the amount taken is limited and can be varied by the court.
Wage garnishment in Ontario follows a judgment. A creditor files a notice of garnishment and the employer must pay part of the wages into court. The Wages Act generally limits garnishment to twenty percent of net wages, higher for support obligations, and a judge can vary the amount on a motion where the deduction causes hardship.
Many garnishments follow default judgments the debtor never knew about — served at an old address, or on a debt the creditor cannot actually prove it owns. A motion to set aside the default judgment, brought promptly with a draft defence, stops the garnishment if granted.
A consumer proposal or bankruptcy filing also stays most garnishments immediately. Support garnishments through the Family Responsibility Office are treated differently and survive insolvency proceedings.
Source: Wages Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. W.1 · Rules of Civil Procedure, R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 194
This work is handled by Leena Kumar (Civil litigation). Read more about civil litigation at VK Law Group, or send us the facts and we will tell you where you stand.
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