By Cecilia Nasmith
Northumberland County has tried time and again to get the Province of Ontario to do something about joint-and-several liability laws.
And in spite of the lack of response, council's Finance and Audit Standing Committee heard yet another request for support to approach the province at its June meeting.
The request came in the form of a letter from the City of Barrie pointing out that in any lawsuit where a municipality is named to absolutely any degree, no matter how minimal, there is always a risk that the entire burden of any judgment will be borne by the municipality's taxpayers.
And it's not just paying the judgment that impacts the taxpayers – it's the impact of that judgment on the cost of the municipality's insurance. Affording this insurance is becoming less and less sustainable.
The letter from Barrie set out seven recommendations the Association of Municipalities of Ontario has submitted to address this issue, calling on the province to “immediately review these recommendations despite COVID-19 delays, as insurance premiums will soon be out of reach for many communities.”
The committee's recommendation is that county council receive this correspondence for information only, “noting that the Committee and Council previously considered similar resolutions.”
Warden Bob Crate noted that it's a subject that comes up frequently at Eastern Ontario Wardens' Caucus meetings.
“A complaint for years,” agreed committee chair Bill Cane.
“Falling on deaf ears.”
