Damages compensate you for what has happened. An order of the court is what makes it stop. Alberta courts have long granted restraining orders against harassing conduct, and since Alberta Health Services v Johnston, 2023 ABKB 209, an injunction is a recognized remedy within a civil harassment claim itself. In Johnston, the court granted a permanent
injunction restraining the defendant’s conduct alongside the damages award.
The orders available
The right order depends on the relationship and the risk. Restraining orders in the Court of King’s Bench can prohibit contact, communication, and attendance at your home, workplace, and other locations. Interim injunctions can restrain conduct while a civil claim proceeds, so you are not left exposed for the life of the lawsuit. Permanent injunctions at the end of a successful claim restrain the conduct indefinitely. Where the person is a family member or former intimate partner, an Emergency Protection Order under the Protection Against Family Violence Act can be granted the same day without notice and is reviewed at the Court of King’s Bench within nine working days, and a King’s Bench Protection Order can follow for up to a year. The firm advises on those alongside the civil options.
What the court needs to see
Orders restraining a person’s conduct are serious relief, and courts grant them on evidence, not adjectives. The application is built on a sworn record: the timeline of conduct, the communications themselves, the attempts you made to stop it, and the effect on you. A well-prepared record is usually the difference between an order with real scope and a narrow one, or none.
Enforcement
An order only matters if breach has consequences. Breach of a civil restraining order or injunction is enforceable through civil contempt proceedings, which can result in fines and, in serious cases, imprisonment. Where police involvement is appropriate, the existence of a clear court order also changes how complaints are received. The firm drafts orders with enforcement in mind: specific conduct, specific locations, specific consequences.
Frequently asked questions
Urgent applications can be brought quickly, in genuinely pressing cases within days, sometimes without notice to the other side. The court will then set a return date where both sides are heard.
No. A restraining order can be sought
without a damages claim. Many clients pursue the order first and preserve the damages claim for later.
Document every breach and contact the firm immediately. Contempt proceedings exist for exactly this, and a documented breach also strengthens every other aspect of your case.
It depends on the relationship and the urgency. Family members and former partners who lived together can use Emergency and King’s Bench Protection Orders. Anyone else is looking at a restraining order or an injunction in a civil claim. The comparison is set out on the protection orders page.
If you need conduct stopped, or an order in place is being ignored, call (587) 328-3328.
Restraining orders, injunctions and protection orders are sought where the file proceeds through the Calgary Courts Centre. Advice is available anywhere in Alberta. The practice is virtual, so meetings happen by video, telephone and email, with in-person meetings available on request in Cochrane or in Calgary.
