10/18/2022
Alberta has Law, specifically for protection against family & intimate partners violence. The process begins though an application to a Provincial Court Judge or a Justice of the Peace for an Emergency Protection Order (EPO).
Sometimes the application can be
by telephone, and sometimes the investigating police will make the application and give the evidence. That application is made without notice, and then is often served by police on the person to be restrained/Respondent.
There are restrictions on the Respondent about contact directly or indirectly, including phone calls or emails/texts. Indirectly includes having friends or family initiating the contact. Restrictions usually prohibited the Respondent from going to the home, workplace or schools - all to increase safety.
Police may be Ordered to remove the Respondent from the house, and seizing weapons.
Provisions can be made so the Respondent can have contact with children, but that usually means getting an Order from a family court. The EPO will not deal with parenting issues (previously called custody/access).
The EPO is back in Court in 9 days for a review. The Respondent knows about the EPO, and responds in an affidavit to the evidence given at the initial EPO hearing.
At this stage, Legal Aid Alberta has a duty counsel program with a lawyer to assist the Claimant and a lawyer for the Respondent. Each should contact the program as soon as possible, so any necessary steps can be taken. Each lawyer will guide their client.
At this review date, there may be a resolution for a Mutual No Contact/Restraining Order; or agreement that the EPO stays in effect for up to a year. When there is no agreement, the Court sets the review over to a hearing. This hearing is not like most hearings with oral evidence. Here the transcript/written record of the evidence given at the initial application is the evidence for the Claimant, who is cross-examined by the Respondent or lawyer. The evidence in the Respondent's affidavit is the Respondent's evidence and will be cross examined by the Claimant/lawyer. Neither the Claimant nor the Respondent give their evidence from the beginning- it's earlier evidence.
The Judge can confirm the original EPO, or make some changes to it, or vacate the EPO all together. Sometimes the Judge will suggest and impose a mutual no contact/restraining Order.
The duty counsel program doesn't extend to the oral hearings beyond the early reviews. You can still apply to Legal Aid or retain a lawyer privately.
Whether it is an EPO or Restraining Order, they should be filed with police (CPIC Unit). That assists police if you call saying that there is a breach of the Order. Police will know there has been past family/intimate partner violence. Police will not know the nature and extent of the violence, from the Order.
EPO can be based on a very wide set of circumstances with varying degrees of danger. Similarly breaches of protection orders vary widely. Your report of the breach is vital to the police response.
No Protection Order will stop bullets or fists. It is still vital to have a safety plan to protect yourself.
I have a keen interest in family and intimate partner violence. I'm part of the Legal Aid duty counsel program to assist you, or through a private retainer.
The news story in Vancouver is an example of police not knowing the degree of violence that are responding to, when a breach is reported.
Vancouver police came under scrutiny last week after videos of a man being arrested were posted on social media, but police say their actions were justified by a court order protecting the man’s wife.
