Is There A Statute Of Limitation On A Govt Of Ontario Debt?

The following answer applies to debts generally, however, the event that "starts the clock" may be difficult to determine. Furthermore, you should contact an Ontario lawyer to provide an opinion on the collectability of student loans as this is a very complicated issue and cannot be dealt with in this forum.

The statute of limitations rules changed in Ontario effective January 1, 2004. For debts incurred after January 1, 2004 a creditor has two (2) years in which to bring proceedings against a debtor. However, this two-year period is reinstated if at any time the debtor acknowledges the debt after that time or makes a partial payment toward the debt. For debts incurred before January 1, 2004, the creditor has six (6) years in which to bring collection proceedings.

Although the statute of limitations prevents a creditor from taking legal collection proceedings, it does not actually extinguish the debt. The creditor (or an agent on behalf of a creditor) can still call in an attempt to collect the debt, however, they cannot proceed to court if the debtor refuses or is unable to pay.

As far as calling your cell phone, tell the collector to stop calling you as you are not the debtor. If they persist, ask the collector for his or her license number so you can lodge a complaint with the Ontario Ministry of Consumer Services. For more information concerning complaints about collection agents, see https://www.ontario.ca/page/filing-consumer-complaint