that garnishment order was registered in Saskatchewan, and it appears garnishment orders are not enforceable across provincial boundaries. Because of that, I have been strongly encouraged to simply file for garnishment in the province of Alberta (where Patrick is employed), and since my 2010 judgment against Patrick has long been registered in Alberta, everything is in place to just file for garnishment, so I think that is what I'm going to do, and I'm looking for someone in that province to be able to do this for me (the Alberta lawyer I had working for me years ago is no longer practicing so I need someone new).
This should not be an onerous job -- I have it on good authority that Patrick works at an outfit called Avenge Energy, and I've even heard that he is renting a room from an oil patch buddy (I will not name said buddy, but initials would seem to be "BKS", just as a heads-up to Patrick that I may actually know where he lives in the vicinity of Grande Prairie).
In any event, I can provide all of the necessary information if some reasonably affordable lawyer wants to do the paperwork and get this started. Drop me a note at canadiancynic@yahoo.ca if you're up for the job.
BY THE WAY, garnishment exemptions differ from province to province and, by choosing to work in Alberta, Patrick has made a moderately poor choice as to which province's garnishment exemptions he is entitled to. Here's how it works in Alberta (amounts listed relative to net monthly income):
In other words (as I read this), no matter how much Patrick earns, he gets to keep the first $800, then half of the next $1,600, then nothing from there forward. In short, regardless of Patrick's income, he will be allowed to keep at most $1,600 net per month, while his employer is legally obligated to hand me the rest. And if Patrick moves back to Saskatchewan for employment, well, there is a garnishment order waiting for him there the instant he re-enters the province.
One final note: Even as the garnishment is proceeding, what Patrick owes me will still be increasing at five per cent annually, so it is entirely possible that what is being garnished might not even be keeping up with accruing interest.
In any event, if any enterprising Alberta lawyer wants to handle the paperwork here, drop me a line and we can get this started.
OH, THOSE COSTS ... while this snippet relates to garnishment in British Columbia, the same principle holds everywhere in Canada; since Patrick has forced me to file garnishment orders against him, I can bill him for all of that. And, trust me, I'm keeping the receipts.
P.S. None of this changes the fact that Patrick still needs to complete and return that mandatory financial questionnaire from the Saskatchewan sheriffs. So ... there's that.
8 comments:
We presume that these extra legal fees to enforce garnishment in Alberta will be added to Twatsy's already inexorably growing six-figure debt?
If Twatsy was smart (which he obviously isn't), he'd reach out immediately today and talk settlement to stop the bleeding.
I *believe* that Patrick is responsible for all costs related to any collection efforts against him, but I would have to check to be sure.
Patrick has, over the years, been offered settlement terms and, without exception, has mocked them and rejected them. He had his chances, so it appears there is only one way this is going to end.
Is there any way this collection activity can be extended to include Patrick's family? Or are they protected from Patrick's stupidity?
Anon @ 8:00 AM: That is an excellent question. Legally, garnishment action against Patrick can't affect anyone but him *directly*. However, if he perhaps borrowed money from family members and is currently paying them back, then the garnishment is going to put a serious crimp in that as he simply won't have the money to continue doing that.
So if any of Patrick's siblings (or his father) were expecting regular payments from Patrick for the foreseeable future, they might want to rethink that.
Oh, god. You're herding him towards British Columbia . . .
Well, you can read the BC garnishment rules here, https://www.sands-trustee.com/blog/an-overview-of-wage-garnishment-in-bc/. However, it's not physically where Patrick works, it's the home province of his employer that matters. I know full well that Patrick sometimes ends up toiling away in BC but, as I understand it, his employer is based in Alberta so that's where the garnishment is processed.
Twatsy's rent in Grande Prairie is probably around $1600/month (seriously, BKS was advertising his suite for $1800/month last summer).
Looks like you're going to take away the thing Twatsy loves more than anything in the world: His $21 restaurant greaseburgers!
If that's true, it's unclear what the value would be in continuing to work in Alberta if pretty much every dollar you're allowed to keep goes directly to exorbitant rent. The obvious solution would be to move back home, but that would probably involve getting a job in Saskatchewan, where my SK garnishment order would kick back in immediately.
Patrick is rapidly running out of road.
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