Law Times

Law timeS • September 10, 2012 FOCUS PAGE 11 Claim over town's snow policies rejected Iroquois Falls man says disability justifies forcing windrow clearing T BY KENNETH JACKSON For Law Times he did. But should the Town of he argument was never whether Ivan Williams has a disability It was always clear that Iroquois Falls, Ont., be on the hook for it? Was it responsible for clearing the snow leſt behind by its snow- plows with the heavier, oſten high- er pile at the end of his driveway? The debate found its way to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. It remained there for nearly two years. The issue began when Wil- help. He asserted that the windrow created a barrier for him as a person with a disability. He asked the city to take steps to remove the snow af- ter the plows go by. Nearly four months later, on Sept. 10, 2010, the town sent a letter of its own telling Williams the issue wasn't its responsibility nor was it dis- criminatory for it to not re- move the snow. Accepting his premise, the town asserted, would put an unfair burden on its services. Williams filed a complaint liams, who suffered from vari- ous medical conditions, found himself bound to a wheelchair in March 2010. Soon aſter, Williams sent a letter to the town asking for its applicant's disability, a belief that the town should be re- sponsible for cleaning up its own mess does not amount to discrimination in viola- tion of the [Human Rights Code]," he said. Hart followed that by say- Should towns and cities have to clear windrows for people with disabilities? with tribunal 16 days later alleg- ing the town had violated his hu- man rights. He then asked the tribunal on Nov. 10 to grant an interim remedy that would have the city clear however, quickly said it wouldn't the snow. The tribunal, issue the interim order. The application continued until a hearing this past March in Iroquois Falls, a town about an hour north of Timmins. " wrote tribunal adjudicator Mark Hart in his July 30 decision re- jecting Williams' claim. Hart said he had no doubt the before me at the hearing, the applicant believes that the town should 'clean up its own mess,'" At its root, in his evidence case involved an issue shared by many Canadian citizens. "But in the absence of evi- dence establishing a burden or disadvantage related to the shows that he has very little money to spare on paying the cost of having his drive- way plowed," wrote Hart. "He has made various attempts to obtain community assistance to help him with this cost, to no avail. each time he had someone come by to plow his driveway along with the windrow. But if Wil- liams was already paying to have the driveway plowed, he' Williams said it cost him $15 " the cost regardless of whether the town removed the windrow. "However sympathetic I may be to the applicant' d incur cumstances, they do not provide a proper basis upon which I can find discrimination in violation of the Code, s financial would need to hire two employees to undertake the work to remove the windrow. One employee would operate the snowplow as the other one dealt with traffic. It estimated the cost would be The town told the tribunal it " wrote Hart. $47 per hour, including benefits. Aſter accounting for machine costs, it was more like $75 an hour. If same for every home belong- ing to someone with a disabil- ity, estimates put the cost at about $175,875 per winter. Reaction to the tribunal' the town had to do the cir- ing he had great sympathy for Williams aſter describing a man unable to work due to his disability and relying on the Ontario Disability Sup- port Program to get by. "The evidence before me cision played out in a National Post story that quoted Williams as saying the town had inflated its estimates. "I think they're stretching it," s de- Sure, we could tell you that our client was awarded the largest personal injury judgment in Canadian history and that all our principal partners are past-presidents of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association. We could also mention that our firm was voted top five in its field in Canada and that we have a five out of five preeminent peer review rating from Martindale-Hubbell. All those achievements and honours don't just happen. They're the result of the way we work and the way we care for our clients. Don't take our word for it... ask around. When you know someone with a personal injury case, call the lawyers that lawyers recommend most. Ask about our competitive referral fees. said Williams, who called the tribunal ruling unfair. "I should not have to pay for clearing the mess they create. ties offer to remove windrows for free or at a discount, but the town consulted with other northern Ontario municipalities to see whether they provided the service. It found they didn't. The mayor of Iroquois Falls A number of municipali- " said other municipalities have the budget to launch such programs but maintained his didn't. "You would hard-pressed to A Noticeable Difference ™ TORONTO I BARRIE I HAMILTON I 1-888-909-2904 I www.mcleishorlando.com Untitled-3 1 www.lawtimesnews.com 12-04-30 4:35 PM find one in Northern Ontario where we get as much snow as we get," said Gilles Forget in the Post article. Forget noted providing services is already a challenge giv- en the town' forcing the town to clear the wind- row aſter every snowfall would, in fact, impose an undue burden. LT In the end, Hart agreed that s dwindling tax base.

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