Every remedy on this pillar, from a cease and desist letter to a permanent injunction, is only as strong as the record behind it. Harassment is a pattern-based tort: the court needs to see repetition, unwelcomeness, and harm, and each of those is proved with documents. This page sets out what to keep, how to keep it, and how we turn a shoebox of screenshots into a claim.
What to preserve
Keep everything, even what feels trivial. The core categories: the communications themselves, meaning texts, emails, voicemails, DMs, posts, and letters, captured with dates, times, and sender identifiers visible; a running incident timeline, written as close to each event as possible, recording what happened, where, and who saw it; witness information, since neighbours, co-workers, and friends who observed conduct or its effect on you
matter; and harm records, including medical and counselling records, time missed from work, and expenses caused by the conduct, such as security measures or a changed phone number.
How to preserve it
Take screenshots rather than relying on the platform keeping content available; harassers delete things. Capture full context, not cropped fragments, because a partial record invites the argument that something is missing. Keep originals: do not edit, annotate, or reorganize inside original files. Back everything up in one place, and if the conduct involves your devices possibly being monitored, tell us before you do anything else.
What not to do
Do not respond in kind; your replies will be in evidence too, and one heated message can cost more than a hundred of theirs. Do not delete anything, including your own messages. Do not record conversations you are not part of. And do not conduct your own investigation into the harasser; that work has legal limits and is better done through counsel.
How we build the record into a claim
At the first consultation, we review what you have, identify the gaps, and give you a short, specific preservation plan. From there, the record is organized into the chronology that the demand letter, the pleadings, and the affidavits are built on. Strong records shorten cases: most early resolutions happen because the other side’s lawyer reads the record and advises their client accordingly.
Frequently asked questions
No. Gaps can often be filled through the other side’s records, platform disclosures, phone records, and witnesses. Start preserving from today and let us assess what is recoverable.
Properly captured and authenticated screenshots are routinely admitted. Authentication is a process we handle; your job is capture and preservation.
Yes. Pattern is the heart of this tort, and contemporaneous notes are persuasive precisely because they were made before any claim existed.
Talk to Us
Keystone Legal serves clients across Alberta in English and French, with appearances at the Calgary Courts Centre.
