By the Brownlee LLP Insurance Defence Team

It’s easy for anyone using a street, sidewalk, or public place to take their safety for granted. This is because the Municipal Government Act requires municipalities to reasonably maintain these areas and other public properties (including utility rights-of-way) for the safety of its residents. With so much area to oversee and maintain, incidents that result in an injury or damage can happen.

Generally speaking, municipalities can be held liable for injuries or damages that occur on their property or their rights-of-way. This is especially true if it knew or should have known about the state of disrepair. However, the MGA provides a municipality with some defences if it can prove that it:

• took reasonable steps to prevent disrepair.
• did not know or should not have known about the disrepair.
• was not involved in acts or omissions done by other entities that also have a legal right to the property.
• was not notified of the incident by the plaintiff within 30 days.

Questions?

If you have any questions with respect to this bulletin, please contact Nabeel Peermohamed at npeermohamed@brownleelaw.com or at 403.260.5301.