The judgment is in your hands, the deadline to pay has come and gone, and the debtor has decided that ignoring you is a strategy. For debtors with jobs, that strategy has a serious weakness: their paycheque. Wage garnishment is one of the most reliable enforcement tools available in Ontario Small Claims Court, because it does not depend on the debtor’s cooperation at all. It goes straight to the employer.

MTS Paralegal Services P.C. has been running garnishment proceedings for judgment creditors across Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph, Hamilton, and Southwestern Ontario for over 20 years. Here is how the process actually works and what creditors need to know before starting it.

What Garnishment Is and Why It Works

Garnishment is an enforcement mechanism under Rule 20.08 of the Rules of the Small Claims Court, O. Reg. 258/98, that allows a judgment creditor to intercept money that a third party owes to the debtor. In a wage garnishment, that third party, called the garnishee, is the debtor’s employer. Once served with a Notice of Garnishment, the employer is legally required to redirect the applicable portion of the debtor’s wages toward the judgment rather than paying it all to the debtor.

The power of garnishment lies in who it involves. The debtor who tore up your demand letter has no ability to stop their employer from complying with a court process. Employers take garnishment notices seriously because the garnishee itself faces legal consequences for ignoring one. That shift, from chasing a debtor who will not engage to dealing with an employer who must, is what makes garnishment one of the most consistently effective paths from judgment to payment.

How Much of a Paycheque Can Be Garnished?

Ontario’s Wages Act protects 80% of a debtor’s net wages from seizure or garnishment for ordinary judgment debts, which means a creditor can generally garnish up to 20% of wages. The court also has discretion to adjust that percentage in appropriate circumstances, either increasing or decreasing it based on the debtor’s situation and the circumstances of the case.

The practical implication is that wage garnishment delivers recovery steadily rather than instantly. On a judgment of meaningful size, payments arrive with each pay cycle until the debt, together with post-judgment interest accruing under the Courts of Justice Act, is satisfied. Creditors should also understand that some income is beyond reach. Certain government benefits, including social assistance payments, are generally protected from garnishment, which is one more reason the collectability of a specific debtor should be assessed before enforcement dollars are spent.

The Process: From Notice to Payment

The garnishment process begins with the creditor preparing an Affidavit for Enforcement Request confirming the judgment and the amount still owing, along with the Notice of Garnishment itself. The notice must be served on both the debtor and the garnishee, and the garnishee receives a blank Garnishee’s Statement to complete, confirming what money is payable to the debtor and how much will be remitted.

An important structural detail of Small Claims Court garnishment is that the garnishee pays the money to the clerk of the court, not directly to the creditor. The court then distributes the funds among the judgment creditors who have filed against that debtor. A garnishment notice remains in force for six years and can be renewed, so a creditor with a patient strategy and a debtor with stable employment will see the judgment paid down over time. When the judgment is fully satisfied, the creditor is required to serve a Notice of Termination of Garnishment on the garnishee and the court clerk so the deductions stop.

Bank Accounts: The Other Garnishment Target

Wages are not the only funds garnishment can reach. A debtor’s bank account can be garnished using the same Rule 20.08 mechanism, with the bank serving as the garnishee. When the notice lands, the bank freezes and remits the non-exempt funds in the account toward the judgment. Unlike wage garnishment’s steady rhythm, a bank garnishment captures what is in the account at the moment the notice takes effect, which makes timing and accurate banking information critical.

This is where the examination hearing under Rule 20.10 proves its worth. Questioning the debtor under oath about their employer, their bank, and their assets before launching garnishment ensures the notice is aimed at the right target the first time. An experienced licensed paralegal sequences these steps deliberately, because a garnishment aimed at a closed account or a former employer wastes both time and filing fees.

Put a Professional on the File

Garnishment involves precise forms, proper service on multiple parties, and ongoing administration until the judgment is paid. Errors at any point can delay recovery or give a resistant debtor room to manoeuvre. It is also only one tool in a larger enforcement toolkit that includes writs of seizure and sale and debtor examinations, and knowing which combination fits a particular debtor is where experience pays for itself.

Timothy Ellis of MTS Paralegal Services P.C. built the foundation of his career in collections and judgment enforcement, and the firm’s court related services carry that strength forward for creditors today. Anyone holding a judgment that a debtor refuses to pay should reach out through the contact page or call (226) 444-4882 to get the garnishment process moving.

Their paycheque arrives every two weeks. Make sure part of it arrives for you.

Small Claims Court… It’s What We Do.