Concerns from surety bond providers have prompted the Ontario
government to make one change, effective this Thursday, to the
state of emergency during the pandemic.
As it stands, an emergency order suspending limitations means
liens against construction projects technically never expire, said
Greg Hersen, partner and chair of construction law at Torkin Manes,
in an interview last week.
The Mar. 20 emergency order was intended to apply to rules such
as the two-year statute of limitations. The concern is that without
the suspension, someone who is unable to get to court to file
paperwork could be denied access to the courts because a timeline
would expire.
But it also means some construction project owners were
retaining a 10% "holdback" longer than would have been
the case had it not been for the provincial state of emergency,
Surety Association of Canada president Steven Ness told
Canadian Underwriter last week. Ness had heard of one case
where an Ontario
