Suspended Limitation Periods (COVID-19)

Caselaw.Ninja, Riverview Group Publishing 2021 ©
Date Retrieved:	2024-11-24
CLNP Page ID:	1651
Page Categories:	[Limitations]
Citation:	Suspended Limitation Periods (COVID-19), CLNP 1651, <5K>, retrieved on 2024-11-24
Editor:	Sharvey
Last Updated:	2022/01/21

Need Legal Help?
Call (888) 655-1076

Join our ranks and become a Ninja Initiate today

ORDER UNDER SUBSECTION 7.1 (2) OF THE ACT

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND CIVIL PROTECTION ACT

Whereas an emergency has been declared pursuant to Order in Council 518/2020 (Ontario Regulation 50/20) on March 17, 2020 at 7:30 a.m. Toronto time pursuant to section 7.0.1 of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (the "Act");

And Whereas the criteria set out in subsection 7.1 (2) of the Act have been satisfied;

Now Therefore, an Order is made pursuant to subsection 7.1 (2) of the Act, the terms of which Order are the following:

1. Any provision of any statute, regulation, rule, by-law or order of the Government of Ontario establishing any limitation period shall be suspended for the duration of the emergency, and the suspension shall be retroactive to Monday, March 16, 2020.

2. Any provision of any statute, regulation, rule, by-law or order of the Government of Ontario establishing any period of time within which any step must be taken in any proceeding in Ontario, including any intended proceeding, shall, subject to the. discretion of the court, tribunal or other decision-maker responsible for the proceeding, be suspended for the duration of the emergency, and the suspension shall be retroactive to Monday, March 16, 2020.

The duration of this Order is subject to any renewal required under subsection 7 .1 (4) and, if applicable, subsection 7.1 (5) of the Act.

Ontario (Attorney General) v. Nanji, 2020 ONCA 592 (CanLII)

[3] By order dated March 19, 2020, Chief Justice Morawetz ordered that “the eviction of residents from their homes pursuant to eviction orders issued by the Landlord and Tenant Board or writs of possession, are suspended” during the suspension of regular court operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the end of June 2020, the Chief Justice advised that a phased resumption of some in-person hearings would begin on July 6, 2020. The AGO brought a motion seeking clarification about the status of future eviction orders. On July 6, 2020, the Chief Justice ordered that the moratorium on evictions – ordered in March 2020 – would end on July 31, 2020.

[11] The order of August 2, 2020 is interlocutory, and this court has no jurisdiction to hear the appeal: Courts of Justice Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.43, ss. 6(1)(b), 19(1)(b).

[12] The appeal is quashed. Consequently, there is no need to consider the appellants’ motion for directions.

Attorney General for Ontario v Persons Unknown, 2020 ONSC 4676 (CanLII)

[46] Accordingly, I dismiss the motion for a stay. If the matter is to proceed despite this order, one or more case conferences are required to set a process to determine what notice may be required, who will be parties, and whether one or more representation orders ought to be made under Rule 10. Then a schedule for the exchange of material and cross-examinations is required. In light of the numerous parties who attended this hearing and ACTO’s indication that everyone facing an eviction order in Ontario has a right to be heard in this proceeding, I am dubious that a hearing in a few weeks is very likely.

Chan v Unger, 2021 CanLII 73579 (ON LTB)

7. The Tenant stated that most of the issues have been ongoing since 2017. She is seeking a 50% rent abatement for having to live with the disrepair issues for so long.

8. The Divisional Court in Toronto Community Housing Corp. v. Vlahovich, [2010] O.J. No. 1463 (Vlahovich), confirms that a remedy cannot go back farther than the one-year period prior to the filing of the application. As the Act is silent on the limitation period for issues raised by a tenant under section 82, I find it reasonable to consider the hearing date (November 25, 2020) as the closest equivalent to a tenant’s application filing date.

9. On March 20, 2020, pursuant to an order under the Emergency Order Management and Civil Protection Act, Ontario suspended limitation periods contained in provincial laws and procedural guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic. The suspension was made retroactive to March 16, 2020 and ended on September 14, 2020. The Order temporarily suspended the operation of any provision of a statute, regulation, rule, by-law or order of the Government of Ontario establishing any limitation period.

10. The same six-month suspension applies to section 82 claims. Given this, the remedy cannot go back farther 18 months before the, or May 25, 2019.

TNT-08686-18 (Re), 2021 CanLII 88300 (ON LTB)

3. On March 20, 2020, however, pursuant to an order under the Emergency Order Management and Civil Protection Act, Ontario suspended limitation periods contained in provincial laws and procedural guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic. The suspension was made retroactive to Monday March 16, 2020. The Order suspended the operation of any provision of a statute, regulation, rule, by-law or order of the Government of Ontario establishing any limitation period temporarily. Under the Reopening Ontario Act, 2020, suspended limitation periods and time periods resume on September 14, 2020. That means that the last day of the suspension period was September 13, 2020.

Medallion Corporation v Hallatt, 2021 CanLII 85078 (ON LTB)

7. On March 20, 2020, pursuant to an order under the Emergency Order Management and Civil Protection Act (the ‘Emergency Order’), Ontario suspended limitation periods contained in provincial laws and procedural guidelines during the current pandemic. The suspension was made retroactive to March 16, 2020. The Emergency Order temporarily suspended the operation of any provision of a statute, regulation, rule, by-law or order of the Government of Ontario establishing any:

• limitation period; or

• period within which any step must be taken in any proceeding in Ontario, including any intended proceeding, subject to the discretion of the court, tribunal or other decision-maker responsible for the proceeding.

8. Restated for the purpose of this matter, for any limitation period under the Board that was to have started running on or after March 16, 2020, the province’s Emergency Order pushed out that same limitation period to start running only after September 11, 2020.