In Ontario, there is no limitation period for a civil proceeding based on an assault where, at the time of the assault, either the parties had an intimate relationship or the victim was financially, emotionally, physically, or otherwise dependent on the assailant.
Section 16(1)(h.2) of Ontario’s Limitations Act, states:
No limitation period
16 (1) There is no limitation period in respect of,
(h.2) a proceeding based on an assault if, at the time of the assault, the person with the claim was a minor or any of the following applied with respect to the relationship between the person with the claim and the person who committed the assault:
(i) they had an intimate relationship,
(ii) the person with the claim was financially, emotionally, physically or otherwise dependent on the other person;
Section 16(1)(h.2) was made law in Ontario on March 8, 2016. It was enacted by Bill 132, the Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan Act (Supporting Survivors and Challenging Sexual Violence and Harassment). The Bill received Royal Assent on March 8, 2016.
Ten years later, on March 18, 2026 (a few weeks ago), New Brunswick’s government proposed new legislation that there be no limitation period to file claims for damages in cases of civil damage claims for family violence. They news release stated “the proposed amendments would expand this to include non-sexual harm that occurred in an intimate personal relationship or in a situation where a person was financially, physically or emotionally dependent on the person who harmed them.”
This is not the first initiative New Brunswick has taken in its battle against intimate partner violence. In December 2023, the province joined the federal government’s National Action Plan to End Gender-based Violence, a 10-year initiative where participating provinces and territories are given money towards implementing the plan in their respective jurisdictions. For signing on, New Brunswick is receiving $16.3 million over four years. In July 2025, the province announced it would be spending $9.2 million on various services supporting victims of gender-based violence, including emergency transition programs, outreach initiatives and second-stage housing. In 2023, Ottawa gave New Brunswick $700,000 for crisis hotlines for victims. Ontario’s Limitations Act expressly says there is “no limitation period” for a proceeding based on assault where the parties had a spousal relationship. So, compared with the New Brunswick proposal, Ontario already has a similar no-limitation-period regime for civil claims arising from family violence, but the key statutory anchor is that the proceeding must be based on assault, sexual assault, or qualifying sexual misconduct. Until such time that the term “assault” is expanded, such as to include the list of acts described in section 2 of the Divorce Act (*see below), the ordinary Ontario limitation period may still apply: generally two years from its discovery.
Not that I am Nostradamus, but may I suggest that after Ahluwalia https://canlii.ca/t/jz277 is decided by the Supreme Court of Canada – which I suspect will be to recognize the merit of civil actions for family violence (although the nomenclature may morph) – we will see a huge spike in claims for compensation by victims of family violence. When you combine that with the monetary jurisdiction of the Small Claims Court – now sitting at $50,000 – the ease of such claims will trigger public awareness, compensation and social justice. [Recall that Justice Mandhane awarded Ms. Ahluwalia $50,000 in compensatory damages for the tort of family violence.]
Section 2 of the Divorce Application Act defines family violence as:
family violence means any conduct, whether or not the conduct constitutes a criminal offence, by a family member towards another family member, that is violent or threatening or that constitutes a pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour or that causes that other family member to fear for their own safety or for that of another person and in the case of a child, the direct or indirect exposure to such conduct and includes:
(a) physical abuse, including forced confinement but excluding the use of reasonable force to protect themselves or another person;
(b) sexual abuse;
(c) threats to kill or cause bodily harm to any person;
(d) harassment, including stalking;
(e) the failure to provide the necessaries of life;
(f) psychological abuse;
(g) financial abuse;
(h) threats to kill or harm an animal or damage property; and
(i) the killing or harming of an animal or the damaging of property;
Steve Benmor, B.Sc., LL.B., LL.M. (Family Law), C.S., Cert.F.Med., C.Arb., FDRP PC, Acc.D.C., is a full-time Divorce Mediator/Arbitrator and principal lawyer of Benmor Family Law Group, a boutique matrimonial law firm in downtown Toronto. He is a Certified Specialist in Family Law, a Certified Specialist in Parenting Coordination and was admitted as a Fellow to the prestigious International Academy of Family Lawyers. Steve is regularly retained as a Divorce Mediator/Arbitrator and Parenting Coordinator. Steve uses his 30 years of in-depth knowledge of family law, court-room experience and expert problem-solving skills in Divorce Mediation/Arbitration to help spouses reach fair, fast and cooperative divorce settlements without the financial losses, emotional costs and lengthy delays from divorce court.
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