Jacques v. Canada: Limitation Period Issues in Class Actions in the Federal Court

The differences in provincial class action regimes have been a frequent topic of conversation amongst class action lawyers across Canada, whether they are discussing multi-jurisdictional cases, carriage, or the emergence of a multi-district litigation practice. Class action practice in the Federal Court engages further considerations. Unlike the statutory regime for most Canadian provinces, commencing a class action in the Federal Court does not toll class members’ limitation periods. Instead, these limitation periods are tolled only when the class action is certified.

In the recent case of Jacques v. Canada, 2024 FC 851 (“Jacques”), the Federal Court refused to certify a federal data breach class action because, among other things, class members’ claims were limitations-barred by the time of the certification hearing. The parties had agreed to hold the matter in abeyance pending the resolution of a parallel class action, but had not taken any steps (for example, entering into a tolling agreement) to toll the limitation periods of the class.