Suspension of Limitation Periods – your questions answered

The suspension of limitation periods, in effect since March 26, 2020, is no longer tied to the provincial state of emergency declared under the Emergency Program Act, and will end one year after the suspension began. It started at the beginning of the day on March 26, 2020 and will be lifted at the end of the day on March 25, 2021 (see the order). There is no further transition or grace period beyond March 25, 2021.

This does not mean that all limitation periods are automatically ending on March 25, 2021 – the examples below will show you how your limitation period may be affected. This applies to all civil and family proceedings in BC Provincial Court, BC Supreme Court and BC Court of Appeal.

But don’t wait to file your Notices of Claim and Notices of Appeal. Do it now.

Guidelines for calculating BC limitation periods

First determine that BC law applies to the claim.*

Limitation period scenarios for BC claims	Effect of suspension of limitation periods	Example
If the limitation period expired before the suspension	No effect. The limitation remains expired.	A motor vehicle accident occurred on February 26, 2018. The limitation period would normally expire on February 26, 2020. The limitation period expired on February 26, 2020 if no action was commenced as the suspension of limitation periods has no application.
If the limitation period would normally have expired between March 26, 2020 and March 25, 2021	Add 1 year to the expiry year of the limitation period. (You have the same amount of time remaining after the suspension of limitation periods as you did before)	A motor vehicle accident occurred on April 27, 2018. The limitation period would normally expire on April 27, 2020 but for the suspension. The limitation period now expires on April 27, 2021.**
If the cause of action arose before March 26, 2020 and would normally expire after March 26, 2021	Add 1 year to the expiry year of the limitation period (You have the same amount of time remaining after the suspension of limitation periods as you did before)	A motor vehicle accident occurred on June 1, 2019. The limitation period would normally expire on June 1, 2021 but for the suspension of the limitation period. The limitation period now expires on June 1, 2022.
If the cause of action arose after the suspension of limitation periods but before March 25, 2021	The limitation period expires March 26, 2023 (A limitation period that began to run during the suspension starts to run when the suspension is lifted)	A motor vehicle accident occurred on October 28, 2020. The limitation period would normally expire on October 28, 2022. The limitation period now starts to run on March 26, 2021. (The suspension is lifted at the end of the day on March 25, 2021)* The limitation period therefore expires on March 26, 2023.**

Note: At the time of this Notice, the discretionary power provided to entities that have statutory power to waive, suspend or extend a limitation period will continue until 90-days after the state of emergency is lifted (see sections 1 and 3 of Item 7 of Schedule 2 to the COVID-19 Related Measures Act). That discretionary power is not intended to extend to courts.

* For example, in a contract claim, BC law including BC limitation law will not apply automatically simply because a party commences an action here. The parties may have contractually agreed to another jurisdiction’s law applying to the contract. In another example, under conflict of laws principles, a court may conclude that the claim is more clearly connected to a jurisdiction other than BC, and that the other jurisdiction’s law applies to the claim.

** For greater clarity, April 27, 2021 is the last day to file the Notice of Civil Claim.

*** Please see s. 4(3) of the Interpretation Act.

**** March 26, 2023 is a Sunday. Please refer to the Interpretation Act to determine what impact, if any, this has on the expiry of the limitation period.

This document was developed by the Lawyers Indemnity Fund of the Law Society of BC, in consultation with the BC Ministry of Attorney General, and is shared as educational material. It is not intended to constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon for those purposes. The Ministry of Attorney General confirms that the examples provided above are consistent with the policy intent for how the suspension of limitation periods relating to the COVID-19 pandemic was meant to function.