Quebec could impose the withdrawal of the driver’s license from all those who refuse to pay alimony to their ex-spouse, which would be a good step forward, according to a family law lawyer.
This is one of many measures that were included in the provincial budget unveiled earlier this week. For recalcitrant people whose wages cannot be garnished, their driving license could be suspended.
“Any means we can use to ensure that alimony is distributed and encourage recalcitrant people to pay is a good idea,” said lawyer Kim Beaudoin in an interview Thursday morning with LCN.
Such an initiative has been requested for a long time, according to the lawyer who mentioned that this measure is already in place in other provinces.
In 2022, nearly 42,600 overdue support files were registered in Canada. In order not to pay, some even prefer to work undeclared, or even quit their job.
It is also impossible to garnish the wages of self-employed workers, even if other means exist to obtain alimony.
“We cannot seize the salary, but we can seize many other things such as bank accounts, property, passport too,” explained Me Beaudoin.
If the law ends up being applied, the lawyer however warned that this does not mean that the tax collector will use all the means at his disposal to obtain the pension.
“I believe that the government should make a big push to ensure that its own civil servants do their job,” she insisted.