Court decision
Fired? You have 2 years to sue, and the clock is running
You were let go, and you tell yourself you'll deal with it later. Careful: in Ontario you generally have two years to start a court claim, and the clock usually starts the day you're dismissed. On September 18, 2026, the Divisional Court confirmed that suing in the wrong court doesn't stop it.
What happened
In Pascuet v. Sky Service F.B.O. Inc., 2026 ONSC 5334, an employee who had worked for an aviation services company since 2004 was dismissed on January 4, 2022, for not complying with its COVID-19 vaccination requirement.
He believed the federal government was behind his dismissal. With a lawyer, he sued in the Federal Court, naming the government and his employer.
In June 2024, the Federal Court struck the claim against the employer, finding it was really an employment matter. A month later, it confirmed the claim had to go to the provincial Superior Court. He started a wrongful dismissal claim there on August 26, 2024, more than two and a half years after he was fired.
Too late. The claim was dismissed without a trial, and the Divisional Court upheld that result and ordered him to pay $8,000 in costs. No court ever decided whether his dismissal was wrongful.
Why the clock didn't stop
Ontario's Limitations Act, 2002 says a proceeding can't be started after the second anniversary of the day the claim was discovered. And you're presumed to have discovered it the day the act took place, unless you prove otherwise.
The court found that he knew who his employer was, that he had been dismissed, and when. Misunderstanding what those facts meant legally didn't delay anything. In the court's words, a limitation period "is not extended simply because a plaintiff commences a claim in the wrong forum".
Other deadlines worth knowing
- A complaint to the Ministry of Labour can't cover a contravention of the Employment Standards Act that happened more than two years before you file. Filing one for termination pay or severance pay also bars a wrongful dismissal lawsuit over the same dismissal, unless you withdraw the complaint within two weeks.
- A human rights application to the Tribunal must generally be made within one year of the incident.
Start with your numbers
A deadline is easier to respect when you know what's at stake. The calculator shows the ESA minimum and what courts have awarded in cases like yours, in a few minutes.
You can also ask your question in the chat, or read more decisions on limitation periods.
Ontario Severance is independent and isn't a law firm; this is general information. From a chat or a calculator result, you can ask us for help finding an employment lawyer, and we reply within one business day.
Sources
This article is general information about Ontario employment law, not legal advice. The law and its application change, and every case turns on its own facts: for advice about your situation, speak with an Ontario employment lawyer.
