On March 16, 2020, the Ontario government made the unprecedented decision to largely close the court system in Ontario in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On March 20, 2020, the Ontario government made a second unprecedented decision to suspend all limitation periods in Ontario retroactive to March 16, 2020.
Likewise, the timelines for any steps that must be taken in a court proceeding are also suspended. Many of these timelines are found in the Rules of Civil Procedure. For example, a litigant normally has 20 days to file a Statement of Defence when served with a lawsuit. This deadline, like many others in the Rules, have been suspended and is no longer in force for the time being.