The Basic Limitation Period is Two Years

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The Limitations Act 2002 sets out the period of time after which an action becomes statute barred. This means that it cannot be legally pursued.

The limitation clock starts ticking from when a reasonable person ought to have known their cause of action has arisen. For a basic debt, whether it is a credit card, unpaid invoice or a car loan, the limitation period is two years from the date when it came due or the date of the last payment or acknowledgment. If you are a creditor, you cannot start an action in court after the two-year period is up. If you are a debtor, nothing really compels you to pay once the creditor is statute barred.

The basic limitation applies to most civil situations. An Exception to that is an action against a municipality for personal injury. The Municipal Act sets a 10-day time-frame to notify the Municipality of a pending action except where there is a fatality or serious personal injury.

The Criminal Code has some different limitation periods as does the Income Tax Act and many other Statutes do as well. No Limitation period exists for deemed trusts to the Government; things like HST and employee source deductions. Income tax itself has a 10-year limitation period. There is no limitation period on student loans CMHC default, fines, judgments or paying back overpayments from the government.

There is a lot to know and if you are wondering about a situation that you are connected to, contact me for some free confidential legal advice. 1-800-208-2586 or john@cramerlegal.ca .