The McGuinty government has launched
www.goodparentspay.com, a new website that will help track down parents who
are not paying their court-ordered support, Minister of Community and Social
Services Madeleine Meilleur announced.
“Children should not suffer because of a parent who refuses to live up to
his or her financial responsibilities,” said Meilleur. “Good parents pay child
support. For those who don’t, we want to make things very clear: we will find
you and we will make sure your children get the support they deserve.”
The new website, run by the Family Responsibility Office (FRO), feature
pictures and other information about defaulting support payors. The site
allows people to submit information about these individuals anonymously to the
FRO.
“We are thrilled that this government is taking the necessary steps to
ensure that more children receive the support to which they are entitled. We
all have to work together when it comes to our children’s welfare,” said
Renate Diorio of Families Against Deadbeats.
The FRO is also reporting defaulting support payors to professional and
occupational organizations beginning with The Law Society of Upper Canada and
the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council. These new powers are the latest
measures introduced to increase enforcement by the McGuinty government to help
children get the support they deserve. Other measures include increasing the
FRO’s powers to demand personal information about payors in order to locate
them and the Credit Bureau Initiative which has collected more than
$330 million since January 2004.
This is the latest example of how the McGuinty government is
strengthening Ontario by strengthening Ontario’s families. Other initiatives
include:
– Creating the Youth Challenge Fund, which could potentially provide up
to $45 million for community-led programs targeted to young people in
underserved GTA communities
– Helping the vulnerable by investing over $120 million more to help
special needs children and their families, including an additional
$10 million in our last Budget for Children’s Treatment Centres
– Investing about $276 million to strengthen community-based services,
including nearly $70 million to create new places to live for adults
with a developmental disability who will be moving into the
community, and $206 million for additional community services and
infrastructure.
