Whereas municipal governments provide essential services to the residents and businesses in their communities;
And Whereas the ability to provide those services is negatively impacted by exponentially rising insurance costs;
And Whereas one driver of rising insurance costs is the legal principle of "joint and several liability", which assigns disproportionate liability to municipalities for an incident relative to their responsibility for it;
And Whereas the Government of Ontario has the authority and responsibility for the legal framework of "joint and several liability";
And Whereas the Premier of Ontario committed to review the issue in 2018 with a view to helping municipal governments manage their risks and costs;
And Whereas the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) on behalf of municipal governments has provided recommendations to align municipal liability with the proportionate responsibility for incidents and capping awards;
Now Therefore Be It Resolved that the City of North Bay does hereby support AMO’s recommendations;
Further be it resolved that the City of North Bay does hereby call on the Attorney General of Ontario to work with municipal governments to put forward a plan of action to address “joint and several liability” before the end of the government’s current term so that municipalities can continue to offer high quality services to their communities.
And Further that a copy of this motion be sent to the Honourable Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario, the Honourable Doug Downey, Attorney General, the Leaders of the Opposition and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario.