No-Contact Order
A no-contact order is a court-ordered term prohibiting the accused from having any contact — direct or indirect — with a named person. No-contact orders are not a standalone offence type; they are conditions imposed within other orders: bail releases under section 515, probation orders under section 731, conditional sentence orders under section 742.3, peace bonds under section 810, and certain ancillary post-conviction orders. The conditions are among the most common in Ontario criminal practice.
What "no contact" covers
A typical no-contact order prohibits: direct communication of any kind (in person, by phone, by email, by text message); indirect communication through third parties (asking family members or friends to relay messages); social media contact, likes, follows, or tagging; physical proximity (often expressed as a distance — 500 metres, for example); attending the named person's residence, workplace, school, or other specified locations; and being at any location where the named person is present, even by chance.
How orders arise
No-contact orders typically arise in: domestic assault and intimate-partner violence cases; criminal harassment matters; uttering threats cases; sexual offence prosecutions; and cases involving multiple co-accused, where no-contact between accused is imposed to preserve the integrity of the prosecution. Once imposed, the order is enforceable like any other condition — breach is a separate criminal offence under section 145 or section 733.1.
Inadvertent breach
Inadvertent contact remains a frequent breach risk. Showing up at a familiar restaurant where the complainant happens to be, accidental matches on dating apps, ongoing social media interactions that pre-date the order — all can support breach charges. The lawful-excuse defence is available in some configurations, but courts apply it narrowly. Practical advice: assume any contact, however small, is a breach risk.
Carve-outs and variations
No-contact orders often carry carve-outs — narrow exceptions permitting limited contact in specified circumstances. Common carve-outs include: contact through counsel; contact with shared children through a third-party intermediary or family court order; brief contact at court appearances; and contact in genuine emergencies. Variations can be sought from the Crown or by formal application.
How Mass Tsang manages no-contact orders
No-contact orders shape daily life. Mass Tsang's criminal lawyers negotiate workable conditions at bail stage, draft carve-outs that anticipate predictable issues, and pursue variations where original terms prove unworkable. For more, see our blog post on failing to comply with bail conditions.
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