COVID-19: Federal Limitation Periods and Other Time Periods Suspended | Practical Law

COVID-19: Federal Limitation Periods and Other Time Periods Suspended | Practical Law

The federal government has suspended limitation periods and procedural deadlines for a six-month period as a result of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic emergency.

COVID-19: Federal Limitation Periods and Other Time Periods Suspended

Practical Law Canada Legal Update w-026-9150 (Approx. 4 pages)

COVID-19: Federal Limitation Periods and Other Time Periods Suspended

by Practical Law Canada Corporate & Commercial Litigation
Published on 06 Aug 2020 • Canada (Common Law)
The federal government has suspended limitation periods and procedural deadlines for a six-month period as a result of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic emergency.
Practical Law Canada has previously covered steps taken by provincial governments across Canada to suspend limitation periods and procedural deadlines to accommodate court closures necessitated by the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic emergency (see, for example, Legal Update, COVID-19: Ontario Limitation Periods and Procedural Deadlines Suspended)
At the federal level, An Act respecting further COVID-19 measures, S.C. 2020, c. 11 (formerly Bill C-20) received Royal Assent and passed into law. Embedded as Part 3 of Bill C-20 is a short statute called Time Limits and Other Periods Act (COVID-19), S.C. 2020, c. 11, s. 11 (TLOPA).
Under section 6(1) of the TLOPA, any of the following sorts of time limits created under an Act of Parliament are temporarily suspended:
  • A limitation period to start a proceeding.
  • A time limit for a step in a proceeding.
  • A time limit for an application for leave to commence a proceeding or take some other step.
The above time periods are automatically suspended for the period beginning March 13, 2020 and ending September 13, 2020. The suspension may be lifted by the Governor in Council or varied by court order.
Section 7 of the TLOPA also created a mechanism for extending certain deadlines under various federal statutes, including:
  • Canada Business Corporations Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-44 (CBCA)
  • Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act, S.C. 2009, c. 23 (CNCA)
  • Canada Cooperatives Act, S.C 1998, c. 1 (CCA)
  • Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. B-3 (BIA)
  • Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-36 (CCAA)
The relevant time periods are not suspended automatically under the TLOPA, but require an order by the minister responsible for the particular Act.
On August 5, the Minister of Industry, Science and Economic Development issued an order altering certain time periods under the CBCA, CNCA and CCA (see http://corporationscanada.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cd-dgc.nsf/eng/cs08730.html). For more information on the effect of this ministerial order, see Legal Update, Time Limits and Other Periods Act (COVID-19)(Canada): Corporate Implications of New Ministerial Order. To date, there are no plans to issue orders pertaining to the BIA or CCAA.

Takeaways:

  • If your client has a claim under a federal statute that was nearing the limitation period before or during the pandemic, you can now take comfort that the limitation period has been suspended temporarily.
  • You should also note that the language of the TLOPA does not appear to suspend procedural deadlines set by court order. To the extent that an upcoming deadline relates to a court appearance or face-to-face meeting, you should continue to follow guidance from the courts regarding the rescheduling of appearances. For other court-imposed deadlines for steps that do not require any in-person appearance, you should continue to use best efforts to meet these obligations and communicate any difficulties to opposing counsel in advance.
For an up-to-date summary of COVID-19 related developments in courts across Canada, see COVID-19: Canada Litigation Updates.