Bill 118 is now law
What does it mean for winter maintenance professionals?

Bill 118 - The Occupiers' Liability Amendment Act, 2020 - took effect in January, when Ontario Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell granted the legislation royal assent. Here's what you need to know, and what to share with your clients.

In the Spring of 2019 MPP Norm Miller introduced Bill 118: The Occupiers’ Liability Amendment Act, 2020. Thanks to the hard work of Landscape Ontario and its members, this Private Member’s Bill passed into law on December 8th. These changes have been proclaimed and are now in full effect! Thank you to everybody who took the time to contact their local MPPs and draw attention to this crisis on social media.  
What does the Bill do:  
 
The Bill amends the Occupiers’ Liability Act to reduce the time period that those who slip and fall can sue the operator for a personal injury claim from two years to 60 days. It also stipulates what is considered notice to the owner or independent contractor and the obligations of the owner or contractor to notify the other parties. 
 
These are important steps in helping to alleviate the insurance crisis as it provides a degree of certainty to insurers that slip and fall claims will not come out of the woodwork two years down the road.   This also means that operators will be more likely to have accurate logs of who was working when the incident took place, information about the property condition, and a relationship with the current property owner for notification purposes.   
 
We urge you to familiarize yourself and your team with the changes and to inform your clients about the notification obligations that are now in place.  We have included a template that you can send to your clients to assist you with this process.   
 
What are the notification obligations: 
 
If there has been damage to a person or property notification must be personally served on or delivered by registered mail to the occupier (owner/landlord) or the independent contractor employed by the occupier to remove snow or ice on the premises during the relevant period in which the injury occurred within 60 days.  The party that receives the notification (either the occupier or contractor) must serve a copy of the notice on or send notice by registered mail to the other party (occupier or contractor).   
 
The only exceptions to these rules are if cause can be demonstrated that would prevent notification in the time period or manner stipulated.   
 
The updated Act can be found through this link for further reference.
 
Landscape Ontario continues to work towards a Contractor Accreditation Program, and other measures that will provide further relief.  
 
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.   

Template letter to share with your clients:

 
Dear CLIENT, 
 
I am writing to you today to provide an update on an important piece of legislation that has now become law. 
 
In the Spring of 2019 MPP Norm Miller introduced Bill 118: The Occupiers’ Liability Amendment Act, 2020. This Private Member’s Bill passed into law on December 8th. It was proclaimed in January and is now in full effect. 
 
The Bill amends the Occupiers’ Liability Act to reduce the time period that those who slip and fall can sue the snow and ice operator for a personal injury claim from two years to 60 days.  
 
It also stipulates that when an occupier (owner / landlord) receives notice of a claim, they must serve notice on or send notice by registered mail to any independent contractor employed by the occupier to remove snow or ice on the premises during the relevant period in which the injury occurred. The notice must include the date, time and location that the injury occurred.  The same notification obligation exists if it is the independent operator that receives the notice instead of the occupier.   
 
The updated Act can be found through this link for further reference.   
 
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me at ____________(DETAILS) 
 
For your records, registered mail can be sent to US / OUR TEAM / OUR COMPANY here: 
 
Name 
Address 
Postal Code 
Etc. 
 
Sincerely, 
 
OPERATOR