BROADCASTS.com

b'

The Supreme Court of Canada has permitted a claim by workers at a mine in Eritrea to proceed, after concluding that Canada has adopted \\u201ccustomary international law\\u201d into the Canadian legal system.

The Eritrean miners brought the proposed class claim action against a British Columbia based mining company, which is a part-owner of the Eritrean mine where they work.

The miners are seeking damages for breaches of customary international law prohibitions against forced labour, slavery, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and crimes against humanity. They allege that the Eritrean government has forced them to work at the mine, in terrible conditions, without pay, indefinitely.

The majority of the Supreme Court of Canada described modern international human rights law as \\u201cthe phoenix that rose from the ashes of World War II and declared global war on human rights abuses.\\u201d

Also discussed on the show is a decision from the British Columbia Court of Appeal, which will permit a claim by a snowboarder against Grouse Mountain Resorts to proceed.

While attempting a run on the resort\\u2019s XL jump, the 20-year-old snowboarder suffered a significant spinal injury and is now a quadriplegic.\\xa0

The Court of Appeal overturned the trial judge and found that the waiver on the back of the ticket, and posted at the resort, was not determinative. In order to be effective, the court confirmed that waivers of liability need to be sufficiently brought to the customer's attention before they purchase a ticket. Here the sign with the waiver was only visible after the ticket was purchased, and the waiver on the back of the ticket was both small, and not provided until the ticket was already purchased.

There is a larger public policy question to be considered concerning whether waivers of liability like this should ever be permitted. If they were not, it would likely result in increased ticket prices for dangerous recreational activities to cover the cost of insurance. If waivers are permitted, the effect is to shift the cost of caring for people who are injured to the public generally.

Finally, a case concerning the largest claim ICBC has ever experienced is discussed: In 2018, on two separate occasions, sulfuric acid was spilled on the highway near Trail BC, by a truck that was transporting it. The acid damaged thousands of cars, including 846 vehicles that were written off due to the extent of the damage.

The court decision will permit ICBC, and other insurance companies, to bring a single subrogated claim against the companies that allegedly spilled the acid on the highway.

Interestingly, if BC had a no-fault insurance scheme, as has been proposed, it is unlikely anything could be recovered from the companies that spilled the acid. This would not encourage more care to be taken when driving with dangerous goods.

Follow this link for a transcript of the show and links to the cases discussed.

Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan is live on CFAX 1070 every Thursday at 10:30 am.\\xa0