A judgment is a piece of paper until you enforce it. The court decides who is owed money. It does not hand you the money. That part is on you, and the law gives you tools to do it.
One of the hardest lessons in debt recovery is that winning and collecting are two different things. You can spend a year getting a judgment and still see nothing if the debtor decides not to pay. At that point the case is not over. It moves into enforcement, and Ontario law provides several tools for turning a judgment into actual dollars. Which tool fits depends on what the debtor has: income, a bank account, or property.
First, Find Out What They Have
Enforcement is only as good as your information. If you do not know where the debtor banks, works, or holds assets, you are enforcing blind. Ontario procedure gives you a way to find out: an examination in aid of execution. This is a formal proceeding where the debtor must attend and answer questions under oath about their income, assets, debts, and financial situation. It is often the first enforcement step, because it tells you which of the remaining tools is worth using. A debtor who fails to attend can face serious consequences, including a contempt motion.
Garnishment: Reaching Wages and Bank Accounts
Garnishment is the most direct tool. A garnishment order requires a third party who owes money to the debtor, an employer paying wages, or a bank holding an account, to pay that money to you instead, up to the amount of the judgment. For a debtor with a steady job or a funded account, garnishment can be highly effective. There are limits: certain income sources are protected, and wage garnishment reaches only a portion of net pay, so it may take time to satisfy a large judgment. But it is steady, and it does not depend on the debtor's cooperation.
"The best enforcement tool is the one matched to the debtor. Wages point to garnishment. Real estate points to a writ. Uncertainty points to an examination first."
Writ of Seizure and Sale: Reaching Property
A writ of seizure and sale, filed with the sheriff and registered on title to land the debtor owns, is a powerful tool where the debtor has real estate. Once registered, the writ attaches to the property. In practice it often works without a forced sale at all, because the debtor cannot sell or refinance the property with a clean title until the judgment is paid. Many judgments are satisfied precisely at the moment the debtor tries to deal with their property and discovers the writ standing in the way. The sheriff can also seize and sell certain personal property to satisfy the judgment.
Post Judgment Interest and the Long Game
A judgment does not stop growing. It carries post judgment interest under the Courts of Justice Act until it is paid, so a debtor who stalls is not escaping the debt, only enlarging it. A judgment is also enforceable for years, and can be renewed. For a debtor who has no assets today but may have them later, an inheritance, a sale, a new job, a properly registered judgment sits and waits. Patience is sometimes the most effective enforcement strategy of all.
Plan for Enforcement Before You Sue
This is why I raise collectability at the very start of a case, not the end. The time to think about how you will enforce is before you spend money getting the judgment. A claim against a debtor with wages or property is worth pursuing. A claim against someone with neither may not be, at least not until their circumstances change. We discuss that assessment in our articles on recovering a debt in Small Claims Court and collecting a debt over $50,000.
If you hold a judgment the other side refuses to pay, or you are weighing a claim and want to understand how you would actually collect, our debt collection page explains the enforcement process, and the first consultation is free.