Protection Against Family Violence Act – More Information

You do not have to have a lawyer in court with you but you may find it helpful. You can hire a lawyer privately. However, there is provision from Legal Aid for legal representation for the process of review of an Emergency Protection Order. You do not have to be subject to any financial test to get this help; it is open to anyone. You must attend or contact your local Legal Aid Service Centre as a first step and they will then direct you. In Calgary, Edmonton, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and Red Deer there are Family Law Information Centres in the main courthouse building.

In other areas Legal Aid will put you in contact with a duty counsel. Duty Counsel are lawyers that work for Legal Aid.

See  links listed below to Legal Aid Alberta and the Family Law Information Centres.

Last Reviewed: June 2015

If you do not need an emergency protection order in an emergency situation, you can apply to the King’s Bench court for a King’s Bench Protection Order. As the claimant you have to establish that you have been the subject of family violence as defined by the Protection Against Family Violence Act. Notice of the application must be given to your uncle.

Last Reviewed: June 2015

It is not a requirement to have a lawyer, but you may find it helpful. You can hire a lawyer privately. If you cannot afford the cost of a lawyer, you can apply to Legal Aid Alberta (see link below) who can provide legal assistance subject to financial limits.

Last Reviewed: June 2015

When an emergency protection order is granted, the matter is automatically scheduled for consideration by a King’s Bench judge so that there are no filing fees.

When an application is made directly to the Court of King’s Bench for a protection order there are still no filing fees.

Last Reviewed: June 2015

Yes. The King’s Bench judge can cover every issue that an emergency protection order does and also make further orders. Under the Protection Against Family Violence Act, a King’s Bench judge can

• forbid someone from attending certain places where the claimant or other family members often are, such as home, work, school.
• forbid someone from contacting you or associating in any way and from subjecting you to family violence.
• give you and other family members the right to remain in a house for a certain period when the respondent is ordered out, even if the home is jointly owned or leased by you and the respondent, or owned or leased by just one of you.
• order that someone pay you back for financial losses suffered by you and any child of yours or in your custody because of the family violence. These losses can include loss of earnings or support, medical and dental expenses, expenses because of injuries sustained, moving, accommodation and legal expenses, and the cost of an application under the Protection Against Family Violence Act.
• grant either of you temporary possession of certain personal property, such as keys, children’s clothing, cheque book, bank cards, medical insurance cards.
• prevent either of you from taking, selling, or damaging property that the other one might have an interest in, for example, a car.
• forbid someone from communicating with you, other family members, your employer, your employees, co-workers, or anyone else in any way that is likely to annoy you or cause alarm. The person can also be ordered not to communicate with you via someone else.
• direct that a peace officer remove someone from the home within a certain period of time.
• direct that a peace officer accompany you to the home to pick up personal belongings.
• require a respondent to post a bond to secure compliance with the order.
• require that the person who abused you receive counselling.
• authorize counselling for a child in the care and custody of a family member without your agreement.
• direct that the weapons used or threatened to be used to commit family violence be seized and stored.

It is also useful to request that the judge add to the order that the police have the power to arrest the respondent if he or she breaches the order.

The order can be in force for up to one year.

Last Reviewed: June 2015

The Act is not intended to be used in this way, however it remains to be seen how it will be interpreted by the courts. The Act mentions the reimbursement of expenses suffered as a direct result of the family violence and gives examples such as loss of earnings or support, medical and dental expenses, out of pocket losses due to injury, moving and accommodation expenses, legal expenses and the cost of making applications under the Act. The intention is that maintenance payments will have to be dealt with through an action for divorce.

Last Reviewed: June 2015

A protection order cannot last for more than one year. It is possible to apply to the court at the end of the year to have the order extended. This will not happen automatically, an application has to be made.

Last Reviewed: June 2015

It is a criminal offence to disobey a court order without a reasonable excuse. It is therefore possible for you to make a complaint to the police if the respondent breaches the terms of the order. Although it is a criminal offence to disobey a court order, it is helpful for the police if the order itself contains a term that gives them the power to arrest someone if they break the order. You will need to show the police a copy of the order or refer the police to their own records where the order should be registered once it is served. Once assured that a criminal offence has occurred, or that they have the power to arrest under the terms of the order, the police can make an arrest.

It is also civil contempt to disobey an order of the King’s Bench court for which legal action may be taken by you.

If your spouse or partner is not obeying a term of the order requiring the payment of money, this is dealt with by the Maintenance Enforcement Program and not by criminal or civil procedures.

Last Reviewed: June 2015

It might be possible for your father to make an application to reopen the issue of the protection order. If you want the protection order to remain in effect or be extended beyond the original period ordered, your father might argue to the court that there cannot be a risk because you contacted him of your own free will. It will then depend upon the view the court takes whether or not the order should remain in effect or be extended. Just because you have contacted him does not automatically require that the court remove the order.

Last Reviewed: June 2015

The existence of a protection order is no absolute guarantee of your safety or that of your family. You will still need to be careful and have emergency plans in place.

You should ensure that a copy of the protection order is left with people who may need to help to protect you and your family. In the case of your children you can give the school principal a copy of the order with instructions as to who to call if your spouse should show up at the school in breach of the order.

Last Reviewed: June 2015

No. The Protection Against Family Violence Act specifically provides that in this situation you cannot be evicted just on the basis that you are not a party to the lease. Further, your boyfriend is probably in breach of the protection order by making this threat to you.

You now have the right to ask your landlord to tell you what the status of the lease is and to tell you about any outstanding claims the landlord has against your boyfriend, for example, for unpaid rent. You can then decide if you want to take on the responsibilities and obligations of the lease in your own name.

Last Reviewed: June 2015

Yes. You can go to the police and tell them what you know. The Protection Against Family Violence Act allows the police to apply to a judge for a warrant permitting entry to a place where a family member may have been subject to family violence. You can also apply for an emergency protection order for your sister.

Last Reviewed: June 2015

The person named in the warrant can enter the address named in the warrant to look for and examine the family member. If the family member consents, he/she can be removed by the police officer from the premises.

Last Reviewed: June 2015

Not necessarily. The purpose of the warrant is to protect a family member from harm. The warrant does not give the police any extra powers of arrest than they already have. In order to arrest her husband the police would have to be satisfied that a criminal offence had been committed.

Last Reviewed: June 2015

The order obtained in Alberta under the Protection Against Family Violence Act can only be enforced in Alberta. You can still call the police in British Columbia but measures would have to be taken under British Columbia law or the Criminal Code. The Criminal Code does include an offence of harassment.

Last Reviewed: June 2015

The kind of order that you apply for will depend upon the circumstances you are in when you need the order, and possibly the status of any other proceedings you may have with the court, such as divorce or custody matters.

The Protection Against Family Violence Act allows access to a judge or justice 24 hours a day to obtain an emergency protection order with an automatic review by a King’s Bench judge within seven days. Free legal assistance is available for the review process from Legal Aid. The King’s Bench judge can make extensive orders under the Act including the repayment of monetary losses due to family violence, occupation of the home, and preserving specified property. The protection order can provide for arrest without a warrant. Applications for protective orders under the Act can only be made by or on behalf of a family member as defined in the Act.

Peace bonds can also provide protection, but can take longer to obtain. Under a peace bond, which is obtained pursuant to the Criminal Code, a judge can make an order about possession of firearms, non-attendance at certain premises, and non-communication.

A restraining order can only be obtained during court hours and can often require the assistance of a lawyer. It might be convenient to apply for a restraining order if you already have a court action in progress for divorce or custody issues. It is possible to apply for a restraining order by yourself. There are self-help kits available from Alberta Justice, see www.albertacourts.ca and follow the links through Court of King’s Bench, Family Justice Services, Family Law Information Centre and Booklets. It is possible to apply for a restraining order against someone who is not a family member as defined by the Protection Against Family Violence Act. A breach of a restraining order can only be dealt with by the civil court through a citation for civil contempt.

Last Reviewed: June 2015

It is possible for a judge to order that there be a publication ban on the events in your application for a protective order. Either you or the person applying on your behalf can ask for this, or the judge may do it anyway.

Last Reviewed: June 2015

You should continue to take all practical and necessary steps to ensure that you and those close to you are safe. A court order might prevent someone from harming you, but it is not a guarantee. For example, you should make sure you are not alone in a vulnerable situation, ensure you have good locks on your doors with emergency numbers by the phone.

You should also register your order with the police who will keep a record of it on their computer system. If the order is broken they can then check it very quickly and take action. When you register the order you might be asked to file a description of the person whom the order is against. The police may also require a certified copy of the order and a copy of the filed Affidavit of Service to show that the other person knows of the order. If a lawyer obtained the order for you, do not assume that the lawyer will file it with the police. Ask if it has been filed and if not take steps to do so. It is also helpful if you carry a copy of the order with you at all times so that you can show it to the police if you have to call them.

Last Reviewed: June 2015

The Protection Against Family Violence Act does state that it should not be used to limit a parent, or someone acting as a parent, from using force to correct children if the force used is reasonable in the circumstances. What is reasonable will be dependent upon the circumstances. You might want to talk to your sister about the situation or contact a social service agency that is authorized to apply for orders under the Act to ask their advice as to what you should do in these circumstances.

Last Reviewed: June 2015

Places where you will find more information about family violence and your options include:

• Local police, RCMP detachment, shelter, victims services unit.
• Alberta Family Violence Info Line 310-1818, toll-free 24/7 can provide help in more than 170 languages. See links listed below  to their translated resources for Ethnocultural Communities.
• Community Service Referral: In Edmonton and Calgary, call 211.
  For community service information in other areas of the province, see Alberta’s province-wide service directory, InformAlberta, as listed in the links below
• Special information websites: Willownet, Oak-Net (as listed under links section)
• Phone directory under Community Resources. Look under Crisis/Distress Lines, Family Violence and Shelters.

Last Reviewed: June 2015