Trial Records and Suspension of Limitation Periods during Court Shutdown

In Cascades Canada ULC v. 2222985 Ontario Inc. 2021 CarswellOnt 14670 (Ont. S.C.J.) Superior Court of Justice addressed whether the suspension of the limitation period on March 20th 2020 applied to procedural deadlines as well as limitation periods.

On March 20, 2020, by way of an order under section 7.1(2) of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.9 (EMPCA Order), the Ontario legislature temporarily suspended the running of all court deadlines and limitation periods.

The facts of this case are centered on the Plaintiff’s repeat attempts to file a Trial Record during the court shut down, in advance of the five (5) year administrative dismissal. Following the Plaintiff’s filing of the Trial Record, the defendant brought a Motion to dismiss the claim as the Trial Record had been filed beyond the five year period per the Rules of Civil Procedure.

The court rejected the defendant’s argument and ruled that the March 6th 2020 Order made under section 7.1(2) of the EMCPCA was issued under Rule 48.14 of the Rules of Civil Procedure. The deadline of the Plaintiff’s filing was caught by the suspension of the timelines imposed by the regulation.     The March 6, Order, while not itself a statute or regulation, was issued under Rule 48.14 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, R.R.O. 1990, c. 194.

Key Take Away: the Suspension on limitation periods, by-laws, rules, statutes and regulations, apply to the Rules of Civil Procedure so long as the parties are correctly calculating their deadlines and timelines in light of the six month (180) day suspension which was lifted on September 14th 2020.

This is still a live issue and parties and counsel should be aware that the courts will uphold the suspension of the limitation period for all procedural rules in Ontario, so long as the deadlines have been calculated in accordance with the 180 day rule, starting from March 20th 2020.