The Family Responsibility Office (FRO) is a provincial agency authorized to assist support recipients in the collection of spousal and child support orders in Ontario, including costs of a support order. All support orders, whether temporary or final, that are made in this province are automatically registered for enforcement by the FRO, subject to the right of the parties to withdraw on consent. Any domestic contract for the provision of support may also be filed with the Ontario Court of Justice for enforcement by the FRO. The support recipient may not take independent enforcement action while the support order or agreement The FRO has…

The Family Responsibility and Support Arrears Enforcement Act, 1996 (FRSAEA) empowers the Director of the FRO to employ any enforcement method necessary to collect outstanding support orders, whether detailed in the FRSAEA or in other statutes. The Director does not have the authority to compromise a support recipient’s claim but may exercise discretion in the timing and means of enforcement. A Director may refuse to enforce a support order at his or her discretion in a number of circumstances, including the following: The amount of support is nominal. The amount cannot be determined from the face of the order because it is expressed as…