Peace Bond and Restraining Order Lawyer in Brampton, ON

A peace bond is an order under section 810 of the Criminal Code requiring a person to enter into a recognizance to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for a period of not more than 12 months. It is not a conviction and it is not a finding of guilt.

Section 810(1) allows an information to be laid by anyone who fears on reasonable grounds that another person will cause personal injury to them, their intimate partner or their child, or will damage their property. Under section 810(3) the court may order the recognizance if it is satisfied there are reasonable grounds for that fear.

Crucially, entering into a peace bond does not require you to admit the allegation. You are not agreeing that you did anything; you are agreeing to conditions going forward. That distinction is why a peace bond is so often the sensible resolution of a weak or difficult case.

Section 810(3.02) lets the court add any reasonable conditions it considers desirable to secure good conduct. Common ones include no contact with a named person, staying away from an address, and abstaining from alcohol or drugs.

Section 810(3.1) requires the court to consider a firearms prohibition and to impose one if it is desirable for anyone's safety. If you own firearms or need them for work, raise it before the bond is settled rather than after.

Section 810(3.01) allows the court to commit a person to prison for up to 12 months if they refuse to enter into the recognizance. Breaching a peace bond once entered is itself an offence, so the conditions have to be ones you can actually live with — not ones you accept to make the day end.

A peace bond is not a conviction and does not create a criminal record in the ordinary sense. The underlying charge is normally withdrawn when the bond is entered.

It is not invisible, though. The existence of a peace bond can appear on some police record checks, particularly vulnerable sector checks, and it may be visible to United States border officials who have access to Canadian police databases. Anyone whose work or travel depends on a clean check should ask about this specifically before agreeing.

They come from different statutes and different courts. A peace bond is a criminal court order under section 810. A restraining order in Ontario is a family court order, available under the Family Law Act or the Children's Law Reform Act between spouses, former spouses or people who have a child together.

The two can overlap. A person facing a domestic allegation may be dealing with a criminal charge and a family proceeding at the same time, and what is said in one can affect the other. They should be handled together rather than separately.

Often it is the right resolution, but it is a decision, not a formality. The advantages are real: no conviction, no criminal record, no trial, and an end to the matter in months rather than years.

Against that, you accept conditions that bind you, a breach creates a fresh charge, and the bond may show on enhanced record checks. If the Crown's case is weak, a withdrawal without any bond may be achievable. If the case is strong, a peace bond may be a better outcome than any realistic alternative.

What matters is that the choice is made with the disclosure in front of you, not on the morning of a first appearance under pressure to resolve. No lawyer can promise the Crown will offer one.