A criminal charge and a family case can start from the same events. They are not the same case. We act in the family case.
Persaud Hussain LLP is a family-law firm. We do not act as criminal defence counsel, and we do not prosecute. That remains true when the family case and a criminal charge arise from the same events. Bail, show-cause hearings, guilty pleas, trials, peace bonds, and variations of criminal conditions belong to criminal court. Our work is the family case: parenting orders, decision-making, restraining orders under the Family Law Act or the Children's Law Reform Act, exclusive possession for married spouses, support, and making sure the family court has the criminal paperwork in front of it.
A criminal charge should not wait on the family file. Legal Aid Ontario and the Law Society Referral Service (findlegalhelp.ca, crisis line 1-855-947-5255) connect you with criminal counsel.
A release order in a criminal case is often made under section 515 of the Criminal Code. Conditions commonly include no direct or indirect contact with a named person, and not attending at a home, a workplace, or a school. Failing to comply with a release order is itself an offence. Section 145 is the provision usually engaged.
Section 810 allows a recognizance, often called a peace bond, where a person fears that another person will cause personal injury to them or to a family member. It is not a finding of guilt on an assault charge. It can still contain no-contact terms.
A family restraining order is neither of those. It is described on the restraining orders page. Exclusive possession under section 24 of the Family Law Act is a third, different order, available to married spouses. A criminal no-go condition and an exclusive-possession order can point at the same house. They do not replace each other.
Section 16(3)(k) of the Divorce Act and section 24(3)(k) of the Children's Law Reform Act require the court, in a parenting or contact decision, to consider any civil or criminal proceeding, order, condition or measure relevant to the child's safety, security and well-being. Section 7.8 of the Divorce Act and section 33.3 of the Children's Law Reform Act give the court a duty to identify conflicting orders, undertakings and recognizances, including matters of a criminal nature, and to coordinate proceedings. Section 47.4 of the Family Law Act is a related duty in support proceedings.
That duty is a reason to put the criminal documents before the family judge. It is not a power in the family judge to rewrite bail. A family order that appears to allow contact can still leave a person in breach of bail if the bail says no contact. The safer family order is one that can be obeyed at the same time as the criminal order. If the criminal order makes a safe parenting arrangement impossible, the change has to be sought in criminal court by criminal counsel. We can tell you what the family case needs. We cannot bring the bail variation.
Parents sometimes assume that a family judge's endorsement is permission to text, to attend the home, or to meet the children in a way the release order forbids. It is not. Until the criminal condition is changed by the criminal court, conduct has to stay inside that condition. Exchanges through a third person, supervision, or no in-person contact are discussed with both lawyers so the proposal is lawful. Do not test the boundary by sending a message "about the children" if the condition has no exception for that.
We do not give advice on what to say in a police statement. If a children's aid society is also involved, that is a child-protection process, discussed on the CAS page, and it is still not a criminal defence.
Statutes on this page were checked against the Ontario e-Laws consolidations current to 28 October 2026. Where a later amendment is marked not in force, the page says so. Criminal Code section numbers above are the long-standing bail, breach, and peace-bond provisions. They are not a description of a retainer for criminal work.
If you are in immediate danger, call 911. Persaud Hussain LLP practises family law only. We handle the family-court side only. You need separate criminal counsel for a criminal charge, a bail order, or a change to a criminal condition. Consultations are by Google Meet. A signing can also be done by Google Meet. The Markham and Toronto offices are staffed. Book a consultation or call (416) 826-1155. This is general information, not legal advice, and it does not predict what a court will order.
These pages describe Ontario family-law issues that often arise together when there is family violence. Each one is general information.
No. Persaud Hussain LLP practises family law only. We handle the family-court side only. You need separate criminal counsel for the charge, the bail hearing, a peace bond, and any request to change a criminal condition.
No. The family order does not cancel the criminal condition. Contact or attendance that breaches the condition can be a criminal offence, including under section 145 of the Criminal Code. Parenting time has to be proposed in a way that is lawful under every order that applies. Changing the condition is done in criminal court, through criminal counsel.
Bail, or a release order, is made in a criminal case, often under section 515 of the Criminal Code, and it can include no-contact and no-go conditions. A peace bond under section 810 can restrain a person where there is a fear of personal injury, without a finding of guilt on a charge. A family restraining order is made under section 46 of the Family Law Act or section 35 of the Children's Law Reform Act. They are different orders from different courts. More than one can be in force at the same time.
The exact wording of every release order, undertaking, peace bond, probation order, and family order, including the date and the court. A summary is not a substitute for the document. Do not try to negotiate contact directly with the other person if a condition forbids it. That conversation is work for the lawyers, inside the limits of the orders.
Speak with Jared Persaud or Nazish Hussain about your case.
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