If an injured person chooses to sue a road authority for
negligence as a result of deficient winter weather maintenance, the
liability picture changes substantially based on the type of
roadway where the accident occurred.
- If the accident occurred on a roadway
controlled by a municipality, the test for liability is governed by
section 44 of the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c.
25.
- If the accident occurred on a roadway
controlled by the Province, the test for liability is governed by
section 33 of the Public Transportation and Highway Improvement
Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 50.
While it is not intuitive to think that who controls the roadway
where the accident occurred would have much of an impact on
liability, this could not be more wrong. Unfortunately, it is much
harder for a Plaintiff to establish liability on a municipality for
deficient winter road maintenance than it is to establish liability
on the Province.
