Emergency Order Suspending Limitation Periods Will No Longer Apply To Construction Act

Since we posted 'Province Suspends Limitation Periods – Consequence for Construction Liens' on March 24, 2020, the question of whether lien rights were really suspended by operation of the order, O. Reg. 73/20, made under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, which suspended limitation periods and procedural time periods retroactive to March 16, 2020, became the source of much controversy. Were the preservation and perfection deadlines set out in the Construction Act 'limitation periods' covered by the first part of the emergency Order such that lien rights expiring on or after March 16, 2020 were extended? Some legal authors emphatically answered 'yes' to that question, while others were not so sure. However, there was no controversy in the construction legal community or the construction industry about the potentially serious unintended consequences of the Order on the flow of funds on construction projects. These consequences were described in our