Breaching a restraining order, peace bond or bail condition in Ontario: what are the penalties?

Each breach is its own offence with its own maximum. Breaking a bail condition carries up to two years by indictment (Criminal Code s. 145), breaching a peace bond up to four years (s. 811), and disobeying a family court restraining order up to two years under the general offence of disobeying a court order (s. 127). The Crown can also proceed summarily, and a breach while on bail can lead to arrest and a new bail hearing where the accused carries the burden.

Many breach charges start with something that felt small: a reply to a text about the children, a visit to drop off a birthday present, a message passed through a cousin. The law treats these orders strictly because they exist to protect someone. This page sets out the penalty for each kind of order and what else a breach can set in motion. It sits where criminal law and family law in Ontario meet.

What is the maximum penalty for each kind of breach?

The general summary maximum, unless another law says otherwise, is a fine of up to $5,000, up to two years less a day in jail, or both (s. 787(1)). The Crown decides whether to proceed by indictment or summarily for the hybrid offences in the table. Our page on what the Crown's choice between summary and indictable changes explains why that choice matters.

The family restraining order row needs a word of explanation. Section 46 of the Family Law Act and section 35 of the Children's Law Reform Act do not set their own penalty, and the Ontario Court of Justice's contempt powers in both Acts expressly exclude restraining orders (Family Law Act s. 49(1); Children's Law Reform Act s. 38(1)). Section 127 of the Criminal Code applies to disobeying a lawful court order without lawful excuse, unless a punishment is expressly provided by law, so it is the provision that fills the gap.

What happens after a breach, step by step?

1. Arrest or appearance notice. Police can arrest for a breach, or release the person with a notice to appear.
2. The bail question. If the person was already on release, the prosecutor can ask a justice to cancel it (s. 524(2)). The justice must cancel it if satisfied the person contravened it or there are reasonable grounds to believe they committed an offence while on it (s. 524(3)).
3. The reverse onus. Once a release is cancelled for a breach, the accused stays in custody unless they show cause, by clearly demonstrating that their proposed release plan addresses the risks (s. 524(4)). Being charged with a section 145 offence while released on another charge also reverses the onus at a new bail hearing (s. 515(6)(c)).
4. A judicial referral hearing, sometimes. Where a failure to comply did not cause a victim physical or emotional harm, property damage or economic loss, the prosecutor can seek a judicial referral hearing instead of a prosecution (s. 523.1). The justice reviews the release conditions and may take no action, cancel and replace the release, or detain if the Crown shows cause. Any breach charge is then dismissed and cannot be laid again (s. 523.1(4), (5)).
5. The breach charge itself. If it is prosecuted, it goes through the same stages as any criminal charge: a first appearance, disclosure, resolution discussions and, if needed, trial.
6. The original charge. The breach is added to, not substituted for, the charge that led to the order in the first place.

What changes the answer?

• Lawful excuse. Sections 145 and 127 make it an offence to fail to comply "without lawful excuse"; section 733.1 uses "without reasonable excuse". Section 811 makes breaching a peace bond an offence without that phrase. Whether something amounts to an excuse depends on the facts and is a question for the court, not something to assume in advance.
• Who started the contact. A no-contact condition binds the person named in the order. Contact that the protected person begins is still contact by the person bound by the order, unless the order allows it.
• Indirect contact. Bail conditions usually prohibit communicating "directly or indirectly" (s. 515(4)(d)). Messages through friends, relatives, social media or the children can count.
• Harm caused. Whether there was harm, damage or loss decides whether the referral hearing route under section 523.1 is available.
• Intimate partner history. If a new intimate partner violence charge is laid while the accused is bound by a peace bond laid on behalf of an intimate partner, the accused carries the onus at bail (s. 515(6)(b.1)(ii)).
• The complainant's wishes. Ontario's Crown directive on intimate partner violence tells prosecutors not to withdraw charges solely because the victim asks, and to consider all the circumstances.

How can a breach affect immigration status?

For permanent residents and people without status, a breach conviction can matter beyond the criminal court. Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, an offence that can be prosecuted either way is treated as indictable even if the Crown proceeded summarily (s. 36(3)(a)). A foreign national can be inadmissible for one conviction of an indictable offence (s. 36(2)(a)). A permanent resident can be inadmissible for serious criminality where a jail term of more than six months is imposed, or the offence carries a maximum of at least 10 years (s. 36(1)(a)), and a sentence of at least six months in Canada also removes the right to appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division (s. 64). A discharge is not a conviction (Criminal Code s. 730(3)). Any resolution offer should be checked against these rules before it is accepted.

For example: a text about a school pickup

This is a hypothetical, not a real client or a result. A mother in Richmond Hill is on a release order with a condition not to contact her husband directly or indirectly. Their son's school changes its pickup time, and she texts her husband a single line about it. He reports the message.

She is arrested and the Crown can ask a justice to cancel her release under section 524. Because no harm, damage or loss resulted from the text, the Crown could instead choose a judicial referral hearing under section 523.1, where the justice would review her conditions and might add an exception allowing communication about the children through a third party. If the Crown proceeds with a section 145 charge instead, her lawyer will examine whether any excuse applies, the strength of the evidence, and how any plea would affect her record and, if she is not a citizen, her immigration status. The cleaner path in the first place would have been a variation of the condition before any need to communicate arose; see how a no-contact condition is changed.

What mistakes do people make?

1. Assuming a family order replaces the bail condition. Both apply; obey the stricter one.
2. Answering "just once". A single reply is still communication.
3. Using social media. Likes, comments and messages to or about the protected person can be indirect contact.
4. Going to a named place for an innocent reason. A stay-away condition applies whatever the reason, unless the order sets an exception.
5. Pleading guilty quickly to "get it over with". A conviction carries record and immigration consequences that a different resolution might not.
6. Ignoring the original order after the breach. The original conditions still apply until a court changes them.

What can you do this week?

1. Get a copy of every order that applies to you: release order or undertaking, peace bond, probation order, family court orders.
2. Read each condition and list the exact people, places and exceptions named.
3. Stop all contact that is not expressly allowed, including through other people.
4. Keep any messages you received; do not delete them, and do not answer them.
5. If you are charged, do not discuss the facts with the police or the other person before speaking with a lawyer.
6. If you are not a Canadian citizen, tell your lawyer your exact status at the start.
7. Ask for a court interpreter if you need one; Ontario provides interpretation in any language required in criminal matters, including for sureties.

Frequently asked questions

Is breaching a peace bond a criminal record?

A peace bond itself is not a conviction, but breaching it is an offence under section 811. A conviction for that breach is a criminal conviction. Our page on what each criminal case outcome means explains peace bonds and discharges.

Can police arrest me without a warrant for breaching an exclusive possession order?

Yes. The Family Law Act lets a police officer arrest without a warrant a person the officer believes, on reasonable and probable grounds, has contravened an exclusive possession order (s. 24(6)). See how exclusive possession orders work.

Does it matter that the other person invited me over?

The order binds you, not them. An invitation does not change the order; only the court process does.

What if I breach a condition about firearms?

A no-weapons term in a release order is a condition like any other, so possessing a firearm while bound by it can be charged under section 145. The seizure and licence rules also apply. See what happens to firearms after a domestic call.

Can a breach charge be resolved without a conviction?

Sometimes. The judicial referral hearing under section 523.1 ends the charge without a conviction where no harm, damage or loss was caused, and other resolutions may be possible depending on the facts and the Crown's position.

Where are breach charges heard in Toronto?

Most are handled at the Ontario Court of Justice at 10 Armoury Street, with bail matters at the Toronto Regional Bail Centre.

Is breaching a restraining order a family or criminal matter?

A family court makes the order, but disobeying it is prosecuted under the Criminal Code (s. 127), so the case is heard in criminal court.

Getting help

Breach charges are often defended alongside the original charge and any family case, so the strategy has to fit all three. Our page on domestic violence charges in Ontario explains the broader process, and our comparison of a restraining order, a peace bond and a bail condition explains where each order comes from. Gambriani Law PC acts in criminal and family matters, in English and Farsi, from Suite 1901, 5000 Yonge Street in North York.

This page is general information about Ontario and federal law, not legal advice about your situation. If you are in danger, call 9-1-1.