Allen v. R., 2023 NSSC 58, February 27, 2023, at paragraph 27:

A Peace Bond is a preventative tool not a punitive one. Agreeing to a Peace Bond is not the same as a criminal conviction and is not an admission of anything. They are used to resolve criminal charges in situations where the preventative aspects outweigh the public interest in having a conviction entered. They are used in family law matters to avoid the occasion of violence. They are intended to be flexible and the process, in order to achieve the goal of prevention, should not be unnecessarily long, formal and drawn out. If a person is prepared to agree to be bound by the terms of a Peace Bond there is no requirement similar to that upon accepting a plea, for a judge or justice of the peace to inquire as to whether the person is “admitting” the elements of the offence because there is no offence. A justice of the peace is not required to look behind the person’s consent to question whether the person who has signified their consent may have a case to put forward to contest the Peace Bond.