Nova Scotia Law Reform Commission Discussion Paper on Enforcement of Civil Judgments

The Law Reform Commission of Nova Scotia has published a discussion paper on Enforcement of Civil Judgments: Exemption of Judgment Debtors’ Income:

"This Discussion Paper considers the extent to which a judgment debtor’s income ought to be exempt from seizure to satisfy a civil money judgment. We have organized the discussion around the following main issues:

1. what benchmark measure to use for determining a minimum threshold of income which is not subject to seizure;
2. how to apply the benchmark measure, including: a. whether the minimum income threshold should be differentiated based on community size, or whether instead a single provincial figure is appropriate; b. whether the minimum income threshold should take into account the debtor’s household income; c. how to account for the debtor’s dependants; d. whether to include certain tax benefits as income subject to seizure;
3. what deductions ought to be permitted in calculating an income exemption amount, in addition to the minimum income threshold (in particular, whether in addition to those legally required to be paid, such as CPP/EI, union dues and professional fees, a debtor ought to be able to deduct child care, child and spousal support, and/or medical expenses);
4. what proportion of the debtor’s income should be subject to seizure; and,
5. how to protect exempt income once it is paid to the debtor."

The document includes a section entitled "Comparison of Income Exemption Provisions in Canadian Legislation".

Contributions and submissions in response to the discussion paper will help the Commission in writing its final report.