A restraining order is a protective order used in situations not covered by the Protection Against Family Violence Act. It is granted by a justice of the Court of King’s Bench and, unlike an Emergency Protection Order or a King’s Bench Protection Order, it does not require that the other person be a family member: a former dating partner who never lived with you, a neighbour, a co-worker, a former friend or a stranger who has fixed on you can all be the subject of a restraining order. The applicant must show a reasonable and legitimate fear for their own safety or the safety of their children or property arising from the other person’s conduct, which may include harassment, threats, stalking, property damage or persistent unwanted contact, and that conduct does not have to be criminal.
In an emergency, a restraining order can be sought without notice to the respondent during regular court hours at the Calgary Courts Centre; the Court decides whether the situation is urgent enough to proceed that way, and if it grants the order, it sets a review date on which the respondent can be heard. Where the situation is not an emergency, the application is made on notice, and the respondent files a response. A restraining order is usually made for one year, though the Court can set a longer or shorter term, and it becomes enforceable by police once the respondent has been served with it. A restraining order cannot give exclusive possession of a family home; where that is needed, the application is brought under the Family Property Act or the Protection Against Family Violence Act instead.
Keystone Legal prepares and argues restraining order applications, with and without notice, and represents respondents at review hearings. In a harassment or stalking case, the evidence is usually a long trail of messages, calls, posts and incidents, and the firm’s work is to turn that trail into a chronology and an affidavit that a justice can act on in a single reading, with a draft order whose terms are enforceable in practice: named locations, named methods of communication, named third parties. The firm also advises on how a restraining order interacts with any criminal proceedings underway and with the firm’s civil harassment practice, where the same conduct may support a claim for damages.
Calgary clients engage Keystone Legal for restraining order matters through a confidential virtual process, in English or French, with in-person meetings by arrangement. The firm accepts restraining order applications and responses proceeding through the Calgary Courts Centre, where it appears in person. If you are being harassed or threatened and the situation is escalating, call (587) 328-3328.
