Toronto Explosion
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Many residents in Toronto were awoken by a huge explosion in the wee hours of Sunday.
A propane facility situated in a residential-commercial neighbourhood in the north-west part of Toronto burst into flame after a series of explosions. It took the firefighters over 7 hours to contain the fire. One firefighter dies on the line of duty, and one employee of the plant is still missing. (Click here to read related articles on the Toronto Star website.)
It is estimated that 12,000 people were forced to evacuate from their homes. The buildings around the facilities were heavily damaged. Canadian manufacturer Bombardier’s plant situated next to the site was shut down today because of safety concerns.
The residents in the area are, no doubt, angry. Many residents say that there was no public consultation when the plant was set up. Although city officials state in a press release that the plant is in its proper zoning area, the mayor has ordered a top-down zoning by-law review (click here for further information).
There are also concerns about a lack of oversight by the provincial government. Apparently, the facility has never been inspected by the responsible provincial agencies.
To what extend can the government be held liable for civil wrongs? In this case, can the government be sued by area residents?
The answer is not clear-cut.
The courts generally do not impose duties on the government, whether federal, provincial, or municipal, without relevant legislation in place. Therefore, if there is no law mandating the government to do something, the courts are reluctant to impose duties on the government for not doing it. Similarly, the government generally does not have the obligation to provide services, etc., in the absence of relevant laws. An example is the government’s refusal this year to fund early treatments for autistic children.
On the other hand, if there are laws of policy in place mandating a service to the public, the courts will generally take jurisdiction over the matter and hold the government responsible. Once the policy or law is in place, the government will be expected to act diligently as a reasonable person would.
In the case of the Toronto explosion, it is very likely that there are laws in place mandating safety inspections on the part of governmental agencies, if not the provincial government itself. If it turns out that there has never been a safety inspection over the past three years while the propane facility was in operation, the provincial government will likely be held liable to some extent in this tragedy.
My condolences go out to the family of the fallen firefighter.
