What is the test for determining the applicable limitation period under a statute of limitation?

In recent years, statutes of limitation have been infused with what has been described as the “discoverability principle”. In considering this principle and how it factors into calculation of the applicable limitation period, McLachlin J. (as she then was) stated in Novak v. Bond 1999 CanLII 685 (SCC), [1999] 1 S.C.R. 808 (at para. 67): “The result of this legislative and interpretive evolution is that most limitations statutes may now be said to possess four characteristics. They are intended to: (1) define a time at which potential defendants may be free of ancient obligations, (2) prevent the bringing of claims where the evidence may have been lost to the passage of time, (3) provide an incentive for plaintiffs to bring suits in a timely fashion, and (4) account for the plaintiff’s own circumstances, as assessed through a subjective/objective lens, when assessing whether a claim should be barred by the passage of time. To the extent they are reflected in the particular words and structure of the statute in question, the best interpretation of a limitations statute seeks to give effect to each of these characteristics.”