Under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, limitation periods and procedural time periods were temporarily suspended retroactively from March 16, 2020 for
90 days, or until any further time that was deemed necessary by the Ontario government. In this regard, Ontario's Construction Act provides specific timelines in which one needs to preserve and perfect construction liens, along with specific timelines in which one must provide payment to those in their construction chain. However, an unintended result of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act's suspension of limitation periods was that it effectively halted the lien and payment periods provided for in the Construction Act.
As a result, the Ontario government was later forced to specifically exempt the Ontario Construction Act from the suspension of the limitation periods provided for in the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, due to its impact on the construction industry in Ontario. The Ontario government's decision on exemption has essentially re-started the lien and payment timelines under the Construction Act, for those that were affected by the initial temporary suspension. For those that were unaffected by the initial temporary suspension of the limitation periods, the timelines provided for in the Construction Act remain unchanged.
For more information on your specific situation related to construction law, or any related construction lien, trust, or surety bond law questions, speak to one of our construction law litigation lawyers by booking a consultation online at www.bprlitigation.com, emailing us at justin@bprlitigation.com, or reaching us by phone at 416-512-2529, and we would be happy to arrange a consultation.
*The above is for general information purposes only and is not to be construed as legal advice, as your specific situation may differ and require individual attention.*