On March 20, 2020, the Ontario government passed an Emergency Order to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. The Emergency Order not only suspended all provincial limitation periods for the commencement of proceedings retroactive to March 16, 2020, but it also more broadly suspended “any provision of any statute, regulation, rule, by-law or order of the Government of Ontario establishing any period of time within which any step must be taken in any proceeding in Ontario.”
The Emergency Order has been repealed effective September 14, 2020 and all limitation periods have now re-started.
It is important to note that the Emergency Order only applies to Ontario limitation periods and time limits. While most or all federal and provincial jurisdictions across Canada passed similar legislation, not all provinces suspended limitation periods for the same period of time. As such, it is important to keep a close eye on any pandemic-related suspensions of limitation periods for any province that might be the applicable law for a particular claim.
Kenneth Dekker, a partner of the firm, is a successful trial and appellate lawyer who is valued by his clients as a resourceful and practical litigation counsel.
Over more than two decades, Ken has litigated noteworthy cases in a range of fields that include class action defence, securities and broker-dealer litigation and regulatory defence, corporate and shareholder disputes (including oppression and winding up cases), defamation, civil fraud litigation, disputes over contracts, injunctions, professional liability litigation, employment litigation and cross-border litigation issues.
Ken has appeared before all levels of courts in Ontario, including the Ontario Court of Justice, the Superior Court of Justice, the Divisional Court and the Court of Appeal for Ontario, as well as before the Supreme Court of Canada. Ken also represents and advises clients in regulatory matters before the Investment Industry Organization of Canada (IIROC), the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (MFDA) and the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC).
Ken has been ranked as Repeatedly Recommended for Securities Litigation by Lexpert, for Corporate and Commercial Litigation by Best Lawyers of Canada, and he has been given the highest available rating of AV, or pre-eminent, by his peers on Martindale-Hubbell.
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