CANADA Law and Practice Contributed by: John Pirie, Matthew Latella, David Gadsden and Christina Doria, Baker McKenzie
RSO 1990, c R.6 is six years from the date when the judgment was prescribed. Where there is no reciproc - ity between Ontario and the judgment jurisdiction, the general two-year limitation period will apply. The Ontario Court of Appeal recently confirmed that the limitation period in the enforcement of a foreign judg - ment begins to run from the date on which the right of appeal regarding the judgment expires, the date on which the appeal is decided, or the date on which the appeal is dismissed. The Ontario Court of Appeal has also confirmed that the statutory provision that no limitation period applies to a proceeding to enforce a court order only applies to domestic orders. It is important to obtain advice early on with respect to the applicable limitation period to enforce a foreign judgment. As referenced in 3.1 Legal Issues Concern- ing Enforcement of Foreign Judgments , a failure to commence an application to enforce a foreign judg - ment within the prescribed time period may be fatal ( HMB Holdings Limited v Antigua and Barbuda , 2020 ONCA 12’ aff’d 2021 SCC 44). 4. Arbitral Awards 4.1 Legal Issues Concerning Enforcement of Arbitral Awards Canadian courts readily enforce both domestic and international arbitral awards subject to limited grounds of refusal. The applicable set of rules to recognise and enforce an arbitral award in Canada depends on whether the award is domestic or foreign. In addition, each prov - ince’s rules on enforcement vary slightly, so particular attention must be paid to the subtle variations across the country. Most Canadian provinces are subject to domestic and international arbitration legislation, each of which gov - erns the enforcement of domestic and international arbitral awards. In common law provinces (all but Que - bec, which has a code-based civil law system), an
• the parties have their places of business in different countries; or • a substantial part of the obligations under the con - tract was performed outside Canada. In Quebec, an arbitration is foreign if the seat of the arbitration lies outside Quebec. The recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards is governed by the applicable international arbitration acts adopted by the provinces. Canada has passed the United Nations Foreign Awards Con - vention Act, RSC, c 16 (2nd Supp), implementing the United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards 1958 (the “New York Convention”). Canada adopted the reser - vation to limit recognition to arbitral awards that are “commercial”. Every province has passed its own for - eign enforcement legislation, implementing the New York Convention. Canada has also passed the Commercial Arbitration Act RSC 1985, c 17 (2nd Supp), which adopts the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration (1985) (the “Model Law”). The common law provinces have also adopted the Model Law, with Ontario, British Columbia and Prince Edward Island adopting the Model Law’s 2006 amendments. Canada is a party to and has implemented the 1965 Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States, 18 March 1965 (entered into force on 14 October 1966) (ICSID). As described in more detail in 4.2 Variations in Approach to Enforcement of Arbitral Awards , final awards obtained by tribunals with jurisdiction over the arbitral proceeding will be enforced subject to very narrow defences. 4.2 Variations in Approach to Enforcement of Arbitral Awards As discussed in 4.1 Legal Issues Concerning Enforcement of Arbitral Awards , the biggest distinc - tion is between domestic and international awards. However, in both cases, courts defer to the arbitration tribunal and will enforce the award, subject to limited
arbitration is international if: • it was held outside Canada;
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