Is a municipality liable for failure to install a catch basin to final surface asphalt grade?

I reject the defendant’s argument that it is not liable because the decision to install the catch basin to final surface asphalt grade was a policy decision rather than an exercise of operational discretion. I conclude that the decision to build an elevated catch basin, rather than a flush-to-the-surface catch basin or ramped catch basin, is operational in nature. Likewise, the system for inspection of the road re-construction and the catch basin in particular, is operational in nature. The defendant municipality made a policy decision to allocate resources to the re-construction of Prince Road. However, during the course of implementing the policy, the defendant did so carelessly. Thus, the defendant cannot avail itself of an exemption from liability by classifying the construction of the catch basin as a “policy decision”. See Just v. British Columbia, 1989 CanLII 16 (SCC), [1989] S.C.J. 121 at paras. 29-31. Moreover, as stated above, the defendant had a statutory duty to repair Prince Road.