Advocate for single parents calling for reform of Nova Scotia’s Maintenance Enforcement Program

DARTMOUTH – It was twenty years ago when Gwen Williams first enrolled in the province’s Maintenance Enforcement Program (MEP). She says what followed were years of frustration, with a program doing little to enforce court orders.

Now out of the program, Williams has become an advocate for single parents in MEP, calling for a reform of the program.

“These people are really suffering, nobody sees them, they don’t have a voice,” said Williams.

Williams says the biggest problem facing MEP is its lack of enforcement. In an effort to bring that issue to the forefront, she wrote an open letter addressed to the Premier, the Justice Minister and others.

“I have a real deep concern that they don’t really understand the issues,” said Williams, who hopes the open letter, sent Sunday, will help raise awareness of the issues facing MEP and encourage a more public discussion of the topic.

"We need real reform, not cosmetic improvement" - Williams says the Maintenance Enforcement Act is "broken" #NSpoli pic.twitter.com/REdsbCCNWp

— Mayya Assouad (@Mayya_Global) March 9, 2015

MEP currently looks after more than 16,000 cases. According to Williams, almost 97% of single parents looking for their court orders to be enforced are women, and she worries that women’s concerns aren’t taken seriously in Nova Scotia.

“If it was 97% men in this situation, we wouldn’t have the situation,” she said.

Lena Diab, Nova Scotia’s Justice Minister, was out of the province on Monday and unavailable for an interview. Global News received a statement by the Justice department, it reads in part:

“We know people are frustrated when payments aren’t made and our staff share those frustrations, which is why they do everything they can to get families the support they’re owed. Currently, in 63% of cases, people in our program receive full payments every month and 85% of money due to families is being collected.”

The province’s Maintenance Enforcement Program is currently under review with results expected in the spring. A spokesperson with Nova Scotia’s Justice Department says the findings, along with the province’s plan forward, will be made public.

Williams warns anything less than a complete reform won’t do.

“It’s the Act itself, I believe it’s broken, I think if they’re going to throw more tools and training at it they’re not going to be able to succeed,” she said.