What is a safeguard order in Quebec family law?
Short answer
It is a temporary judgment settling an urgent question that cannot wait for the final hearing: child custody, support, use of the home, authorizing a trip. Either spouse or de facto partner can ask for it at any point in the proceedings, by showing urgency. Its duration, set out in the judgment, cannot exceed six months (art. 158(8) C.C.P.), but it can be extended — and the final judgment may be completely different.
In detail
Getting a final judgment can take months. The safeguard order settles what is urgent in the meantime: determining or changing custody, asking for or changing support (for the children or a former spouse), deciding exclusive use of the home, asking for an advance for costs, or authorizing a child's trip the other parent opposes.
The application is made to a judge, usually in writing in a document titled « demande d'ordonnance de sauvegarde »: you state what you are asking for and explain why the situation is urgent — demonstrated urgency is what opens the door.
The decision has a limited validity period, set out in the judgment, which cannot exceed six months (art. 158(8) C.C.P.); it can be extended. Safeguard measures do not bind the judge at the final hearing, who may adjust them or render a completely different judgment.
Not to be confused with the civil protection order (art. 515.1 C.C.P.), which protects a person's safety in a context of violence, intimidation or harassment.
What to document
Urgency is shown with dated facts: cancelled or refused exchanges, the children's actual schedule, expenses incurred, messages — each with its date. Also note the expiry date of the order you obtain: it is a deadline to watch so you can seek an extension in time.
Put your facts in writing, free. Writing your version down early, keeping your documents dated and preparing your questions for a lawyer: the tool is there to document, never to advise.
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Official sources
- JuridiQC — The safeguard order in 5 questions (French)
- Code of Civil Procedure, art. 158 — LégisQuébec (French)
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What this page is not
This is general legal information about the law of Quebec and Canada, dated and sourced. It is not legal advice, not a strategy, and not a prediction about the outcome of a case. In Quebec, only lawyers and notaries may give legal advice (Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, ss. 128 and 133). Laws and amounts change: the official source always prevails over us.