Find out what Beyer had to say
Election are always a hot topic
When is the Budget not a hot searchVICTORIA -- On September 1, a new law went into effect in British Columbia. For those who measure society's health in terms other than mega projects, this law is one best initiatives by any B.C. government since W.A.C. Bennett nationalized the ferry system.
On September 1, the Family Maintenance Enforcement Program became law in British Columbia. It should go a long way towards restoring some social and economic justice to abandoned spouses and the most helpless victims of broken marriages -- the children.
Under the motto "We Owe It To Our Children," the government has launched a comprehensive program, the aim of which is to enforce regular family maintenance payments imposed by the courts at the time of separation or divorce.
We're all familiar with the phenomenon of the rising divorce rate. Most of us have seen marriages of family members or friends break apart. But few of us have seen the statistics of what comes after. Consider this:
There are an estimated 89,000 single parents in British Columbia. About 35,000 of those are on income assistance. More than 75 per cent of the single parents do not receive regular support payments imposed by a court order. Enforcement has been expensive and, therefore, virtually non-existent. Those who tried to have support payments enforced found it to be a lengthy and frustrating experience, and there was no guarantee of success.
Take the following case, an actual example from the files of the attorney general's ministry. A single parent with two children has a net income of $1,000 a month; the former spouse earns $2,000 a month, but has no other family to support. The court orders support payments of $170 a month.
After a few months, payments become intermittent, arrears are cancelled, and numerous court hearings are held to recover the payments.
Finally, a garnishment order is obtained, but the employer fails to comply. No follow-up takes place for six weeks. Payment is finally made, but held for 18 days, pending notification of the former spouse.
This single parent appeared in court four times during a five-month period. During the 10-year history of this particular case, fewer than half the support payments were made.
Attorney General Bud Smith used this example during the official opening of the province's first Family Maintenance Enforcement Program office in the Lower Mainland. He stressed, however, that such persistence is unusual.
"More often, single parents trying to raise their children are too intimidated or lack the financial and emotional resources to take enforcement action," Smith said.
The attorney general says the maintenance enforcement office can locate most errant spouses, even if they live outside the province. He says the office will collect the payments and promptly pass them on to you.
Legal assistance at no charge will be provided for low-income applicants if the former spouse applies to the court for a change in the amount of maintenance.
To give even more teeth to the program, the government will open up two additional enforcement office, one in Victoria and one in Kamloops.
Like I said, the Family Maintenance Enforcement Program is one of the best things introduced by any provincial government in a long time. It squarely addresses a problem that has got out of hand. There may be nothing society can do collectively about the rising tide of broken marriages, but there's something we can do about people who fail to live up to what should be their first and foremost obligation -- care for their families, estranged or not.
Full marks should to Premier Vander Zalm and his government for lifting the rug and cleaning up some of the dirt that's been pushed there for decades.
