The Protection Against Family Violence Act in Alberta Explained

Alberta's Protection Against Family Violence Act is the law behind emergency protection orders and King's Bench protection orders. If you have heard of it but are not sure whether it applies to you, this article explains the basics in plain words.

It is a general overview. Your situation may involve details that change the answer, so a lawyer can confirm how the Act applies to you.

This article covers the law of Alberta.

Who the Act protects

The Act protects "family members." That includes current or former spouses, current or former adult interdependent partners, and people who have lived together in an intimate relationship. It also includes parents of a child, relatives by blood, marriage or adoption, and children in a family member's care.

What counts as family violence

• An intentional or reckless act or omission that causes injury or property damage and intimidates or harms a family member.
• A threatened act that creates a reasonable fear of injury or property damage.
• Forced confinement.
• Sexual abuse, meaning sexual contact of any kind coerced by force or threat of force.
• Stalking, meaning repeated conduct without lawful excuse that the person knows or should know amounts to harassment and causes the family member to fear for their personal safety.

There is one exception: reasonable force used by a parent or guardian to correct a child is excluded, so long as it does not exceed what is reasonable in the circumstances.

The two main orders

An EPO takes effect immediately, but a provision is not effective against a person unless that person has actual notice of it, and the order must set a Court of King's Bench review date not later than 9 working days after the order is granted. An EPO can be replaced by a King's Bench protection order. At the review, the King's Bench justice may revoke the order, direct an oral hearing, confirm it, or revoke it and grant a King's Bench protection order, whether or not either party attends.

From Monday to Friday, 8:15 am to 4 pm, you can apply for an EPO by calling local police or RCMP, or in person at an Alberta Court of Justice. In the evenings (4 pm to 11 pm) and overnight (11 pm to 7 am) you can call police or RCMP at any time, or use the hearing office by phone. Weekends and statutory holidays, 8 am to 11 pm, have the same options as evenings. An EPO can only be applied for by the person at risk and family members, and is only granted in situations of family violence. In some cases police will apply for an EPO for the person. Someone who needs protection but is not experiencing family violence cannot use an EPO, and Alberta.ca directs them to Information Services for other options.

To apply by phone, you complete the online Claimant Screening form, print it as a PDF, and email it to the hearing office with clear copies of the front and back of your government-issued ID. If the form qualifies, a Justice of the Peace phones you. You must answer, because the courtroom can only make outgoing calls and cannot call back after a missed call. If the form shows you do not qualify for the phone route, you are told by email and must apply through police or RCMP, Legal Aid Alberta, or an Alberta Court of Justice. Legal Aid Alberta provides EPO duty counsel at the Edmonton Law Courts and the Calgary Court Centre.

What an order can include

An EPO can restrain the respondent from attending specified places and contacting you, give you exclusive occupation of the residence for a specified period, and allow police removal, supervised retrieval of belongings and weapons seizure.

A King's Bench protection order can include no contact, exclusive occupation, reimbursement of monetary losses (medical, moving, accommodation and legal costs), temporary possession of personal property such as a vehicle, keys or identification, a bond to secure compliance, counselling, weapons seizure and any other provision the Court considers appropriate. These orders do not change ownership or title to property, and a landlord cannot evict you solely because you are not a party to the lease. A protection order lasts as long as the judge considers appropriate, up to one year unless extended.

Court clerks must keep a claimant's location confidential unless the claimant consents, and hearings may be closed and publication banned.

Enforcement and related orders

Contravening a protection order provision is an offence if the person has actual notice of it. A first offence can bring a fine of up to $5,000, up to 90 days' imprisonment, or both. A second offence carries imprisonment of 14 days to 18 months, and a third or later offence 30 days to 24 months. The offence does not apply to a reimbursement provision under s. 4(2)(d) of a King's Bench protection order. A peace officer may arrest without warrant someone reasonably believed to have committed the offence. Making a frivolous or vexatious complaint with malicious intent is also prohibited.

Other tools exist. A family violence restraining order is a separate King's Bench order made without notice for people who have lived together in a relationship and fear for their physical safety. Family violence can also matter in parenting decisions under the Family Law Act.

What to do next

• Decide whether the situation is urgent. If it is, you can call local police or RCMP at any time in the evenings and overnight.
• Work out whether the person is a family member under the Act.
• Keep records of incidents, messages and injuries.
• Ask a lawyer which order fits your situation, and how it fits with parenting or property issues.

Frequently asked questions