Project Overview and Status

The Law Commission of Ontario is examining why protection orders are failing to prevent intimate partner and family violence in Ontario.

At least 434 people — mostly women and children — were murdered in acts of intimate partner violence across the province from 2003 to 2021, according to Ontario’s Domestic Violence Death Review Committee. Most cases had a history of violence, and in a quarter of cases the perpetrator had breached a protection order or other court order.

Protection orders are legal tools meant to prevent violence by imposing conditions on a person causing harm — such as restricting where they can go or who they can contact. There are many different types of protection orders in Ontario, including restraining orders, peace bonds, bail release orders or undertakings, exclusive possession orders, and criminal sentences with protective conditions. Some First Nations also have their own protection orders. We define these orders and related terms in our Project Glossary.

When they work, protection orders can save lives. But Ontario’s current legal landscape is often inaccessible, ineffective, outdated, and overly complex.

  • Frances Chapman – Professor, Bora Laskin Faculty of Law, Lakehead University
  • Neha Chugh – Founder, Chugh Law, and LCO Board Member
  • Jennifer Koshan – Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Calgary
  • Deepa Mattoo – Executive Director, Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic
  • Sarah Milmine – Founder, Milmine Consulting, and Supervising Clinical Social Worker, Now What? Support Services
  • Janet Mosher – Associate Professor, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University
  • Emily Murray – Legal Director, Luke’s Place
  • Miriam Roger – Project Coordinator, Your Way Forward, Justice for Children and Youth

The LCO gratefully acknowledges the research funding from the Law Foundation of Ontario and the Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin Access To Justice Fund, held at Vancouver Foundation, in supporting this project.

What Issues Are Being Looked At?

The LCO aims to modernize protection order laws and processes to improve access and effectiveness. We’re examining how protection orders work in practice — including issues of access, process, evidence, conditions, duration, and enforcement. We’re also considering whether Ontario should introduce standalone civil protection order legislation, and how to improve coordination across systems.

On December 11, 2025, the LCO released our provincial Consultation Paper on Improving Protection Orders in Family, Child Protection, and Civil Law.

The Consultation Paper sets out key issues, options for reform, and questions for feedback from survivors, legal professionals, community advocates, service providers, academics, and the broader public. The Consultation Paper is based on what we’ve learned so far, including our preliminary research, informal meetings, case law review, and two LCO surveys.

Issues considered in the Consultation Paper include:

  • The need for emergency orders
  • Expanding eligibility to apply
  • Trauma-informed processes
  • Effectiveness of the “reasonable fear” standard
  • Whether conditions and durations meet safety needs
  • A centralized database of protection orders
  • Monitoring compliance
  • Appropriate consequences for breaches
  • Conflicting court orders
  • Supplementary strategies for protection

Current Project Phase

The LCO released its Consultation Paper on Improving Protection Orders in Family, Child Protection, and Civil Law in December 2025. Consultations run until March 13, 2026.

In Spring 2025, the LCO ran a Community Survey and a Professional Stakeholder Survey to hear from Ontarians about their personal and professional experiences with protection orders and their ideas for change. The results of these surveys are planned for release in Winter 2026.

Project Lead and Contacts

The Project Lead is Laura Snowdon. She can be contacted at LSnowdon@lco-cdo.org.

The LCO can be reached at LawCommission@lco-cdo.org.

Project Documents

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