By Ashley Wiebe

Former oilfield worker calls for overhaul of family legal system

Jan 24, 2017 | 4:30 PM

REDCLIFF, AB — Ryan McNeil never thought he’d find himself in the situation he’s in.

When the 41-year-old was laid off in March of 2015, he thought it was only a matter of time before he found another steady income.

“In pipeline industry, a job finishes, you might get laid off for a month and then you go back to work again, so I just carried on living as normal and searching for work,” he said from his Redcliff home.

He didn’t think he’d have to meet with a bankruptcy trustee while watching the bank foreclose on his home.

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McNeil was fine for a while, but the nearly $3,000 in child support payments took a big chunk out of his bank account every month.

With no money coming in, it didn’t take long until there was nothing left to make his support payments or pay his mortgage.

“I’d started applying all over,” McNeil said. “McDonalds, A&W, gas stations, liquor stores and just wherever.”

Hoping to get his child support payments reduced, McNeil went to court, but said nothing changed.

“That judge, at that time, found it hard to believe that someone with my experience and my contacts couldn’t find employment,” he said. “I had a few judges that made really horrible remarks in court, along the lines of ‘deadbeat dad’, ‘loser dad’.”

McNeil went back to court after finding a job delivering pizzas. He brought pay stubs in to prove he was making far less than in the oil field. His payment was cut in half, but was still more than he could afford at his reduced wage.

“The judge, she said right out that she did not have time to look at all those numbers. She basically set my wages at just over $38,000 a year,” he said. “I’m making minimum wage,” knowing he’s making even less than that.

He had to borrow money in an attempt to keep up with support payments, but when he fell behind, the Maintenance Enforcement Program threatened to take away his driver’s license.

McNeil sent a letter to the justice minister, but never heard back.

CHAT News requested an interview with Kathleen Ganley, but received this statement.

“Our government is always open to listening to Albertans regarding their concerns, I was very sorry to hear about the challenges faced by a hard working Albertan in this case. Each file with the Maintenance Enforcement Program is unique and will have different circumstances and difficulties.”

McNeil said he’s waiting for an eviction notice from his bank and believes he could be forced to leave his home any day.

“I’ve never had a problem with my child support in all these years,” he said. “I’ve paid faithfully every time. As soon as I lose my job, they’re all over me. I can’t believe how fast it escalated.”