What is a section 810 peace bond and does it give you a criminal record?
Short answer
A section 810 peace bond is a recognizance to keep the peace, imposed for a maximum of twelve months by a justice of the peace who is satisfied that a person has fears based on reasonable grounds. It is not a finding of guilt, so it does not create a criminal record.
In detail
Section 810 of the Criminal Code allows a person who reasonably fears that someone will cause them harm, or harm their partner, their children or their property, to lay an information before a justice of the peace. If the court is satisfied that the fears are based on reasonable grounds, it can order the person named to enter into a recognizance.
The recognizance cannot exceed twelve months. It can carry reasonable conditions: not to communicate directly or indirectly with the person, not to go to certain places, not to possess weapons, to abstain from certain substances.
Section 810 also states that the court may impose a term of imprisonment of up to twelve months on a person who fails or refuses to enter into the recognizance.
Two nuances matter. A section 810 order is not a conviction: the person is not found guilty of anything. But it does leave a trace in police files, and failing to comply with it can lead to a criminal charge for breach.
What to document
Keep a written copy of the order and of every condition, with the start and end dates. If you are the protected person, document every breach: date, time, place, description, screenshots, witnesses. If you are the person named in the order, document your movements and your communications so that you can show you complied with the conditions.
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
Related questions
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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.