Can I Get Exclusive Possession of the Home if Abused in Saskatchewan?

If you are being abused at home, staying put while the other person leaves can feel like the safest option. In Saskatchewan there is a fast legal route aimed at exactly that situation.

This article explains what that route does and how it differs from dividing property later. If you are in immediate danger, contact emergency services right away. The information here is general, and a lawyer can advise on your own circumstances.

This article covers the law of Saskatchewan.

The emergency intervention order

Under The Victims of Interpersonal Violence Act, a designated justice of the peace can grant an emergency intervention order without notice if satisfied interpersonal violence occurred and urgency means the matter should not wait for a judge. The victim applies in person, or someone applies for them with leave.

Designated persons such as peace officers and victim services staff may apply by telecommunication, and the order takes effect immediately. What counts as interpersonal violence under the current wording of the Act depends on your situation, so a lawyer or victim services worker can confirm how it applies to you.

What the order can do

• Give the victim exclusive occupation of the residence regardless of who owns it.
• Direct a peace officer to remove the respondent.
• Bar contact, including electronic contact.
• Bar attendance at places like work or school.

Because the order applies regardless of ownership, it can matter even if the home is in the other person's name only.

What happens after it is granted

After the order is granted, the justice sends it to the court, and a judge reviews it within three working days of receipt, or as soon as a judge is available. The victim or the respondent can apply to vary or revoke it.

Keep a copy with you and make sure you understand every term. If anything changes, such as the other person contacting you, tell the police and your lawyer.

If children are involved, decisions about them are a separate matter from who lives in the home. The Children's Law Act, 2020 sets out decision-making responsibility and parenting time for unmarried parents and for married parents not seeking divorce, and the Divorce Act uses the same terms in divorce cases. Decision-making responsibility means responsibility for significant decisions about a child's well-being, including health, education, culture, language, religion and spirituality, and significant extra-curricular activities. Parenting time is the time a child spends in the care of a person, whether or not the child is physically with that person the whole time.

A court may order supervised parenting time, for example where a parent has a history of abusing drugs or alcohol or there is a risk of the child being abducted. Supervised visit centres operate only in Regina and Saskatoon.

How this differs from property division

An emergency order deals with who lives in the home right now. Dividing property is a separate question under The Family Property Act. Under that Act, family property is generally distributed equally unless the court finds equal distribution would be unfair and inequitable. For the family home the test for an unequal split is stricter, and the court considers only an extraordinary circumstance, unless the spouse with the children would otherwise be treated unfairly.

The Act applies to married spouses and to unmarried spouses who cohabited continuously for two years or more. Whether the Act also gives a court power to order exclusive possession of the home is a point to confirm with a lawyer, as it depends on the Act's wording and your facts.

What to do next

• If you are in danger now, contact emergency services right away.
• Contact the police or victim services about an emergency intervention order.
• Keep records of incidents: dates, messages, photos and medical notes.
• Plan a safe place and keep key documents and ID accessible.
• Speak with a lawyer about parenting, support and property, and about family dispute resolution exemptions.

If you apply to court about family matters, you can ask for an exemption from the dispute resolution requirement where there has been interpersonal violence, the other parent has abducted a child, or there is other urgency.

Frequently asked questions