Feel threatened? Feel that someone will cause personal injury to you, your spouse your child or to your property? Then a peace bond may be just the thing.
If someone feels that another person will cause personal injury to them, their family or to their property, they may attend before a Justice of the Peace and lay an information outlining their allegations and concerns. The Justice of the Peace will review the allegations and determine whether there are sufficient grounds to order that the threatening individual appear before the court for a hearing to determine whether an order to keep the peace (aka peace bond aka recognizance to keep the peace) will be issued.
A peace bond may be issued if the Justice of the Peace is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to fear that a person “will cause personal injury to [the compl
ainant] or to his or her spouse or common-law partner or child or will damage his or her property”.
Under s. 810 of the Criminal Code, the court can order that a person “keep the peace and be of good behavior for any period that does not exceed twelve months, and comply with such reasonable conditions prescribed in the recognizance”. These conditions may include not being within a certain distance of a person or place, a prohibition on communicating directly or indirectly with a particular person, a prohibition on having weapons, and/or a prohibition on consuming alcohol or drugs, amongst others.
A peace bond is seen as preventive in nature, rather than punitive. Such a remedy is unique in criminal law, as restraint on liberty is ordered even though no offence has been committed.
When considering whether to seek a peace bond, or if you are asked to enter a peace bond, you should obtain the advice of criminal counsel. For those facing a peace bond, there can be serious repercussions.
More information on peace bonds is available at the Government of Canada Department of Justice website, here or in an excellent blog by Stuart O’Connell, here.
Have a peaceful, easy weekend.