We are considering filing a small claim against someone that has since moved to Canada. I'm pretty sure she won't pay just based on previous behavior, and she doesn't work. Would we be able to garnish wages/savings with her being in Canada, and us being in the US??

We are considering filing a small claim against someone that has since moved to Canada. I'm pretty sure she won't pay just based on previous behavior, and she doesn't work. Would we be able to garnish wages/savings with her being in Canada, and us being in the US???


Small Claims cases are filed based on the residency of the Defendant, not the Plaintiff, so this would be a Canadian Small Claims Court case with a Canadian Judgment, enforceable in Canada.

As stated by JudyKayTee the answer is "yes."

The difficulty you may have is dealing with a proceeding that is far removed from where you live. Some Small Claims Courts in Canada have their forms online and they can be mailed into the court once ompleted. In addition, if the matter is defended and proceeds to a settlement conference you may be able to participate by way of a teleconference.

If, however, the matter proceeds to a trial you will need to attend.

If the debtor is in Ontario you may find information about the Ontario Small Claims Court at Ministry of the Attorney General / Ministère du Procureur général (http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca)