Item - 2021.IE26.13

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee:

1. Requested the General Manager, Transportation Services, in consultation with the City Solicitor, present to the Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee in the first quarter of 2022 a review of the Supreme Court decision and any new service enhancements to ensure safer winter sidewalk and road access for pedestrians especially after a snowfall.

On October 21, 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that British Columbia resident Taryn Joy Marchi was due a new trial after she had sustained serious injury crossing a snow pile made during the municipality’s snow clearing. 

Every winter, Toronto residents experience large snowbanks lining the sidewalks that are not cleared, and a number of weather-related accessibility concerns. While the City of Toronto has been thus restricted in its snow clearing response due to limited machinery, staffing, and narrow downtown streets, this ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada could be precedent-setting for municipalities across the country.

If Toronto wishes to remain a safe, and accessible place to live all year round, we must evaluate our policy decisions against this new Supreme Court ruling and implement new procedures which reflect these changes.