A group of farmers brought an application seeking a declaration that a Crown corporation administering agricultural support programs was bound by the two‑year basic limitation period under the Limitations Act, 2002 when attempting to recover program overpayments.
The applicants argued that, as a Crown agent rather than the Crown itself, the corporation could not rely on the statutory exemption from limitation periods applicable to Crown claims related to economic programs.
The court held that references to the Crown in s. 16(1)(j)(i) of the Act include Crown agents acting within the scope of their statutory authority.
As the debt claims arose from government economic programs administered by the corporation as a Crown agent, the exemption applied and the two‑year limitation period did not bar recovery proceedings.
The application was dismissed with costs.
