In March of 2014, five private companies responsible for snow clearing in Ontario contacted Global News to warn the public that “safety isn’t what it should be and the government needs to invest more.” Global News interviewed Darcy Romaine in response. (See Interview here)

Tim Boland and Darcy Romaine have been at the forefront of exposing the Ontario government for diluting its road maintenance standards at the expense of the motoring public. Nadine’s Story, featured on this webpage, demonstrates how in Thornhill v. York Region, Tim and Darcy were the first to successfully obtain compensation against a municipality in the face of the Minimum Maintenance Standards, regulations passed by the Ontario government which the Ontario Court of Appeal has recognized as sanctioning negligence.

Tim and Darcy were the first to successfully obtain compensation against a municipality in the face of the Minimum Maintenance Standard

Following their success in Thornhill, Tim and Darcy launched a challenge against the Ontario Government to have the regulations struck for introducing a standard of maintenance so low it offends the Municipal Act. The case was Silveira v. York Region. However, while the case was being prosecuted, the Ontario government changed the wording of the regulation and on the eve of the hearing, York Region withdrew reliance on the standards as a defence, thereby avoiding the debate, for now.

Tim and Darcy are frequent lecturers on the subject of municipal liability, and have published numerous articles, trade papers, and authored sections of books on the issue.