The Limitations Amendment and Public Officers Amendment Act

Home → Legislative Business → Bills → 42-5

A A A

5th Session, 42nd Legislature

This HTML version is provided for ease of use and is based on the bilingual version that was distributed in the Legislature after First Reading.

Bill 26

THE LIMITATIONS AMENDMENT AND PUBLIC OFFICERS AMENDMENT ACT

Bilingual version (PDF)

Explanatory Note

(Assented to )

HIS MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, enacts as follows:

PART 1

THE LIMITATIONS ACT

C.C.S.M. c. L150 amended

1 The Limitations Act is amended by this Part.

2 Section 3 is amended by renumbering it as subsection 3(1) and adding the following as subsection 3(2):

Orders made on or after October 1, 2012

3(2) For certainty, no limitation period applies to a proceeding to enforce an order referred to in clause (1)(d) made on or after October 1, 2012.

3 Section 28 is replaced with the following:

Claims under the Former Limitation of Actions Act

Definitions

28 The following definitions apply in this section and in sections 29 to 31.

"claim" means a claim in respect of which there was a limitation period under the former Act. (« réclamation »)

"former Act" means The Limitation of Actions Act. (« loi antérieure »)

4 The following is added after section 31:

Claims under Public Officers Act and Limitations Repealed by Sections 32 to 50

Definitions

31.1 The following definitions apply in this section and in sections 31.2 and 31.3.

"claim" means a claim to which a former limitation period applied. (« réclamation »)

"extension date", in relation to a claim, means the earlier of

(a) the last date of the ultimate limitation period for that claim under this Act; and

(b) the following date, whichever applies:

(i) in the case of a claim to which the former limitation period under The Public Officers Act applied and which was discovered after September 30, 2021,

(A) if discovered before September 30, 2022, the transition date plus the number of days from the end of the claim's former limitation period or September 30, 2022, whichever is later, to the day that is one year after the claim was discovered, or

(B) if discovered on or after September 30, 2022, the day that is one year after the claim was discovered plus the number of days from the discovery date to the transition date, or

(ii) in any other case, the day that is one year after this definition came into force minus the number of days from the discovery date to the transition date. (« date de prescription prorogée »)

"former limitation period" means a limitation period under subsection 21(1) of The Public Officers Act or a limitation period repealed by any of sections 32 to 50. (« délai de prescription antérieur »)

"transition date", in relation to a claim, means the day on which its former limitation period was repealed. (« date de transition »)

Expiry of former limitation period

31.2 No proceeding may be commenced under this Act respecting a claim discovered before September 30, 2021, if its former limitation period expired before the claim's transition date.

Claims to which this section applies

31.3(1) Subject to section 31.2, this section applies to claims based on acts or omissions that occurred before the repeal of the former limitation period and in respect of which no proceeding was commenced before the applicable transition date.

Claim discovered before transition date

31.3(2) In the case of a claim discovered before its transition date, a proceeding may be commenced under this Act, whether or not the former limitation period that applied to the claim has expired, if the proceeding is commenced before the earlier of

(a) two years after the transition date; and

(b) the day on which the former limitation period expired or would, but for its repeal, have expired or the claim's extension date, whichever is later.

Claim discovered on or after transition date

31.3(3) In the case of a claim discovered on or after its transition date, this Act applies, whether or not the former limitation period that applied has expired, as if the act or omission on which the claim is based occurred on the transition date.

PART 2

THE PUBLIC OFFICERS ACT

C.C.S.M. c. P230 amended

5 The Public Officers Act is amended by this Part.

6 Section 21 and the centred heading before it are repealed.

7 The centred heading "SECURITY FOR COSTS" is added before section 22.

PART 3

COMING INTO FORCE

Coming into force

8 This Act comes into force on the day it receives royal assent.

Explanatory Note

This Bill amends The Limitations Act and The Public Officers Act.

The Limitations Act

Amendments are made respecting the transitional provisions in The Limitations Act.

Extended limitation for specified claims

A new Limitations Act came into force on September 30, 2022, replacing an outdated Act.

Under the former Act, a claimant had a specified period of time to start an action after an event had occurred. Section 14 of the former Act also allowed the claimant to ask the court, within 12 months after discovery of their claim, for an extension of their limitation period.

The new Act allows a claimant two years after discovery (rather than the occurrence of the event) to start an action. On that basis, section 14 of the former Act was not carried forward. However, a gap related to its removal has been identified.

Specifically, section 4 of this Bill addresses the potential instance of a claimant under The Public Officers Act or under repealed provisions of Acts referred to in sections 32 to 50 of the new Limitations Act being prejudiced by not having had a full 12-month period within which to ask for the extension before the new Act came into force. It does so by giving the claimant under these Acts a new limitation period equal to the balance of the 12-month period that was lost when section 14 of the former Act was repealed. The new limitation period begins the day section 4 comes into force.

Limitation periods in other Acts

Section 4 also ensures that limitation periods referred to in sections 32 to 50 of the new Limitations Act are covered by the transitional rules in the new Act.

The Public Officers Act

Section 6 repeals section 21 of The Public Officers Act, which requires a claim against a public officer to be brought within two years after the event giving rise to the claim. Repealing section 21 will bring claims against public officers within the purview of the new Limitations Act, which allows a lawsuit to be brought within two years after discovery.