New Limitation Act (Bill 34) Proposed In British Columbia

The British Columbia government recently introduced Bill 34, the Limitation Act (the 2012 Limitation Act), into the legislature for first reading. Assuming the 2012 Limitation Act is adopted as proposed, all civil claims in B.C. will be subject to a two-year basic limitation period, and a 15-year ultimate limitation period. These changes follow those made in other provinces with modernized limitation statutes, such as Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and New Brunswick. This bulletin summarizes the key changes.

The previous B.C. Limitation Act (the 1975 Limitation Act) imposed limitation periods of two, six, or 10 years depending on the legal nature of the claim. Under the 1975 Limitation Act, the limitation period ran from the time the cause of action arose or, in certain cases, from when it ought reasonably to have been discovered.