Two storms over the past five days have created icy conditions across the Maritimes, resulting in hundreds of slips and falls that have landed an overwhelming number of people in emergency rooms.
Many larger municipalities are taking on the responsibility of clearing sidewalks, but questions are being raised about who should be responsible, and who is ultimately to blame for falls.
Helen Wamboldt says she has been avoiding icy patches in Dartmouth all week.
“The walking is treacherous,” says Wamboldt, who is 82 years old.
“I’ve got two artificial hips and I’ve got a knee that needs to be done and I’m terrified that I’m going to fall.”
Complaints about icy sidewalks are piling up in the Halifax area and in Saint John as city crews work to catch up after Sunday and Wednesday’s storms.
“We have people in the neighbourhood who are in wheelchairs or walkers or canes, and this is impossible for them to get around, especially this time of year when they want to get out and do their shopping,” says Saint John resident Debbie Flewelling.
This year, for the first time, the Halifax Regional Municipality has committed to clearing sidewalks on the peninsula. With the change, the city could also be responsible for falls that occur on icy sidewalks.
“We would have to investigate, if there is ever an incident, and we’d have to determine who would be liable,” says HRM spokesperson Jennifer Stewart.
Since Sunday, doctors at the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre in Halifax have seen an overwhelming number of people admitted after falling on ice.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that with the increase of people that are being harmed as a result of the condition of the sidewalks, we are going to see an influx of actions against the city,” says lawyer Ray Wagner.
He believes the city would be better off if home and business owners were still responsible for clearing their own sidewalks.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Alyse Hand
