Dear Angela;

I can’t offer comments on the Canadian law, I’m afraid, but colleagues may be interested to know that these provisions sounds similar to (though perhaps even more extreme than) provisions in Part 5 of the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) (replicated in other Australian jurisdictions)- see eg

(1) A public or other authority is not liable in proceedings for civil liability to which this Part applies to the extent that the liability is based on the failure of the authority to exercise or to consider exercising any function of the authority to prohibit or regulate an activity if the authority could not have been required to exercise the function in proceedings instituted by the plaintiff. 

(2) Without limiting what constitutes a function to regulate an activity for the purposes of this section, a function to issue a licence, permit or other authority in respect of an activity, or to register or otherwise authorise a person in connection with an activity, constitutes a function to regulate the activity.

Other provisions of Part 5

• Require the “available resources” to be taken into account (s 42)- the subject of an interesting recent decision in the Court of Appeal in Weber v Greater Hume Shire Council [2019] NSWCA 74 (17 April 2019) http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/nsw/NSWCA/2019/74.html 
• Raise the bar for breach to “highly unreasonable” in relation to an action for “breach of statutory duty” (s 43) or an action in negligence (s 43A) involving the exercise of a “special statutory power”
• Reinstate the common law immunity of highway authorities (s 45).

If these Ontario provisions are enacted courts may possibly refer to the developing body of law in NSW on Part 5 in interpreting them. In this regard the “NoteUp References” feature of our local search site Austlii (www.austlii.ed.au  )is excellent for tracking decisions on specific legislative provisions.

Regards

Neil

Here is a summary, taken from the Ontario Government’s Budget Bill, Schedule 17, of the some of the proposed changes to the Proceedings Against the Crown Act which will take effect when the Crown Liability and Proceedings Act, 2019, becomes law.

Section 11 extinguishes causes of action against the Crown or an officer, employee or agent of the Crown respecting negligence or a failure to take reasonable care in relation to acts of a legislative nature, negligence or a failure to take reasonable care in relation to the making (or purported failure to make) a regulatory decision in specified circumstances, or negligence or a failure to take reasonable care in relation to the making (or purported failure to make) decisions respecting policy matters. No proceedings respecting such matters may be brought, and any existing proceedings are deemed to be dismissed without costs. The circumstances in which section 11 applies may be augmented on an ongoing basis by regulations made under section 30; such regulations may be retroactive and may be made to apply to proceedings in existence when the regulations come into force.

Sections 12 to 27 address various procedural matters, some of which apply in the case of proceedings against the Crown (or an officer or employee of the Crown), and some of which apply in any proceedings to which the Crown is a party. Except as provided by the Act and the regulations made under it, the rules of court apply to proceedings to which the Crown is a party (section 13). Under section 16, proceeding against the Crown by way of petition of right is abolished. Section 17 requires court leave to bring a proceeding against the Crown or an officer or employee of the Crown in respect of a tort of misfeasance in public office or based on bad faith exercise or performance, or intended exercise of performance, of powers, duties or functions. Section 18 sets out notice requirements for proceedings against the Crown that include a claim for damages. Section 19 addresses discovery in proceedings to which the Crown is a party. Proceedings against the Crown or an officer or employee of the Crown shall be tried without a jury (section 20). Sections 22 to 25 set out restrictions on the types of orders that may be made in proceedings involving the Crown. Section 27 addresses certain enforcement issues.

(Emphasis added.)

I would be interested in the assessment by members of the ODG of the extent to which the proposal will change the current law on Crown liability in Ontario.

Angela Swan