Limitation Periods Resume On September 14, 2020

In less than one week, limitations start to run again after a six-month suspension. On August 20, 2020, the Ontario Government announced that the suspension of limitation periods would end on September 14, 2020.

All limitation periods by the Government of Ontario had been suspended by emergency order effective March 16, 2020. The suspension of court operations in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic required this extraordinary legislative reaction in order to ensure that litigants would not be time-barred from prosecuting their claims due to a limitation issue.

The suspension and ultimate resumption of limitation periods raises important questions and is sure to be at the heart of much litigation in the years to come.