Yahoo Finance Advocates hopeful Supreme Court of Canada ruling improves snow clearing in St. John's
Accessibility advocates in St. John's are hopeful that a recent Supreme Court of Canada decision will make municipalities more accountable for accidents related to snow clearing — or a lack of snow clearing.
"I am rejoicing in this decision," said Anne Malone, a disability activist who ran for St. John's city council in the 2021 municipal election.
"It completely validates claims that we have made as a community over the last decade."
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Taryn Joy Marchi, who injured her leg while climbing over a snowbank in Nelson, B.C. in 2015, could sue the city of for negligence.
In St. John's, the city has faced scrutiny in recent years over what some believe is insufficient sidewalk snow clearing. A motion put forth last fall by Coun. Ian Froude to increase the city's sidewalk clearing budget by $1.3 million was voted down.
Malone said the Supreme Court decision signals a shift away from simply focusing on snow clearing for cars and trucks, and "opens up a whole world of possibilities that extend far beyond winter sidewalk safety and accessibility."
What still needs to be determined, Malone said, is how much protection pedestrians have given the decision and what defines an injury.
"The law is quite elastic as it gets tested as people ask questions and as different scenarios are presented to human rights tribunals and show up in the courts," she said.
A welcome decision
Kelly Jane Bruton says that her fight for improved sidewalk snow clearing started long before she suffered an ankle injury on an icy sidewalk in downtown St. John's.
"Anne and I are old hands at snow clearing advocacy," she said. "We've been fighting."
The incident still limits Bruton's movements — she can't participate in heavy aerobics, she said — and also caused her to miss out on a year's income.
It's one of the reasons Bruton said the Supreme Court decision was welcome.
"I've always seen sidewalk clearing as a culture of care and a human rights issue," she said.
"To be able to walk downtown, or mail a letter, or go to the grocery store is just a basic right of a citizen."
Bruton said her accident prompted her to inquire about a municipality's liabilities when it comes to accidents caused by snow clearing efforts.
"Those lawyers said that it would be a very difficult thing to prove in court in terms of liability," she said. "Plus, it would cost a lot of money to pursue that option."
But Burton said the existence of a legal precedent, and its potential for positive outcomes in the province, is exciting.
"I see this as an opportunity for the provincial government to work with municipal governments to improve the well-being of citizens all across the province," she said.
"I see it as a win in terms of our improved health outcomes."
Not just a matter of money
Discussions around improving snow clearing often come down to dollars, but Bruton said a little ingenuity can go a long way.
"I think that at some point we're going to have to start to be creative and think about how we're going to improve the situation with the money that we do have."
Malone said discussions around snow clearing should focus more on the value clear sidewalks can bring, versus the cost they carry.
"Yes, the service has a price tag, but what is the value that is yielded from spending that money as opposed to the liability that is established by not spending the money," she said.
"If you look at that through a care of mutual support, or through a lens of mutual support and human rights, things become … a lot less difficult to prioritize."
