Protection Order Against a Boyfriend or Girlfriend in British Columbia

You are afraid of someone you are, or were, involved with, and you want a court order to keep them away. Whether you can use the family law protection order often turns on one question: is this person legally a "family member"? A boyfriend or girlfriend is not automatically one.

This article explains who counts, how three common situations usually play out, and what the peace bond option is for people who fall outside the definition. Your facts matter a great deal here, so treat this as general information.

This article covers the law of British Columbia.

Who counts as a family member under the Family Law Act

The Family Law Act sets out who is a "family member". It includes a spouse or former spouse, a person who lives or has lived in a marriage-like relationship, a parent or guardian of your child, and a person who lives with you and is related to you. It also includes your child, and a child living with, or whose parent or guardian is, one of those people.

A person is a spouse if you are married, or if you have lived in a marriage-like relationship for a continuous period of at least 2 years or (except in Parts 5 and 6) have a child with that person. A spouse includes a former spouse.

• Spouse or former spouse
• Someone you live with, or have lived with, in a marriage-like relationship
• The other parent or guardian of your child
• A relative who lives with you

Why the definition decides whether you can apply

Protection orders under Part 9 of the Act are only made against a family member. A court may make one if it determines that family violence is likely to occur and the person applying is an at-risk family member, meaning someone whose safety and security is or is likely at risk from family violence.

So there are two tests: family violence must be likely, and you must be at risk. But the order must also be against a family member, which is why dating partners, co-workers and strangers who are not family members cannot get this kind of order.

Three common situations

Whether a relationship was "marriage-like" is not always obvious. For someone to be a spouse, the Act asks for marriage, or a marriage-like relationship for a continuous period of at least 2 years, or (except in Parts 5 and 6) a child together. How a court views your situation depends on the facts, so this is a good question to raise with a lawyer.

If you are outside the Act: the peace bond

A criminal peace bond under Criminal Code s 810 can be used against anyone. You can lay an information if you fear on reasonable grounds that another person will cause personal injury to you, your intimate partner or child, or damage property. If the fear is shown to be reasonable, the court may order a recognizance to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for up to 12 months.

On a peace bond, the court must consider whether a firearms or weapons prohibition is desirable for safety, and if so must add it. A defendant who refuses to enter the recognizance may be imprisoned for up to 12 months.

Breaching a peace bond recognizance (Criminal Code s 811) is an indictable offence with imprisonment of up to four years, or a summary conviction offence. Actual sentences vary from case to case.

Registry, enforcement and what a court looks at

Family Law Act protection orders and criminal orders such as peace bonds both go into BC's Protection Order Registry, a confidential database. Court staff usually enter orders the same day a judge signs them, so you do not have to request registration. Police can confirm an order's current details by calling a central number at any time of day or night, and can then act to enforce it right away.

If you do qualify for a protection order, the court considers, among other things, the other person's history of violence, whether violence is repetitive or escalating, coercive or controlling behaviour, recent separation, risk factors such as weapons, and your own perception of risk. An application may be made without notice to the other person. If so, that person can later apply to set the order aside, change it or end it.

What to do next

• If you are in immediate danger, contact emergency services right away.
• Write down dates, incidents, messages and any threats, including threats about pets or property, which can count as family violence.
• Work out your relationship history: did you live together, for how long, and do you have a child together?
• Keep copies of any existing orders, since a new protection order can suspend a conflicting family order to the extent of the conflict.
• Ask a lawyer to confirm whether you are a "family member" if your situation is unclear, and which route fits your facts.

If your relationship status is uncertain, getting legal advice early can save you from applying under the wrong process.

Frequently asked questions