The father of my child blocked me and is not around. What does this mean when I take him to court?

Congratulations on your pregnancy!  Even though the father of your child is not around and is not involved with your pregnancy, this does not relieve him of making financial contribution to your child’s wellbeing and development, once you give birth. Under Canadian law, your child has the legal right to get financial support from both you and the father – even if the father does not want to be involved in the day-to-day care and upbringing.

As for blocking you:  This does not prevent the father from being held liable for your child’s support claims, nor prevent you from asserting legal support rights on your child’s behalf.  The law has several means to get around a support payor’s persistent evasiveness.  For example, if you have tried repeatedly to serve the father with a child support claim but he rejects or avoids receiving it, eventually a court may absolve you of having to follow the normal processes for serving all future court documents on him.

Additionally, the fact that you may not be able to reach the father to communicate, does not mean he cannot be reached at all.  His information and contact details will be on-file with various government offices, and – if need be – the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) will be able to help you enforce any order for support that you may be able to obtain against him.