Some of you might remember a few months ago when I received a surprise cheque from the government of Ontario for a portion of the child support my ex has owed me for many years. They’d seized the money from his bank account.
Well, about six weeks ago, I got a call from that same government department (The Office for Family Responsibility), asking me to send them a photo of my ex. They said they wanted to serve him with a summons, and a picture would be useful in making sure they served the right person. I thought about it and decided not to do it. It’s one thing to be sitting there minding my own business and a cheque for $8000 comes waltzing through the door, but I wouldn’t feel right helping them hunt him down. Besides, his mom had just died and I felt bad for him.
Today I saw something on Yahoo Canada News: apparently Ontario wants to create a deadbeat parents website for the purpose of shaming deadbeats into paying their child support arrears. It would include names, photographs and information about Ontario’s deadbeat parents. I wonder if that’s the real reason they wanted a photograph of my ex.
Here’s an example of what they have in mind: Wanted for Failure to Pay (Illinois). Tacky. It’s not that I think deadbeat parents shouldn’t pay up (they should), but the concept of snitch sites seem more American than Canadian to me.
What do you think?
I agree with you. Parents should pay up, but I don’t think this is the way to go….it’s so American!