Derrick J. Kimball

The appeal concerned whether future Canada Pension Plan disability benefits fall within the SEF 44 Endorsement deduction for amounts recoverable under a policy of insurance providing disability benefits.

The Court held the endorsement language is unambiguous and refers to private insurance policies, not mandatory statutory schemes like the Canada Pension Plan.

It rejected reliance on collateral-benefit jurisprudence from distinct statutory and tort contexts to alter the contract’s ordinary meaning.

The appeal was allowed and CPP disability benefits were held non-deductible from amounts payable under the endorsement.

The insured appellants left their property vacant for a period before a tenant moved in.

The property was later destroyed by fire.

The respondent insurer denied the claim on the basis that the earlier vacancy was a material change to the risk under Statutory Condition 4 of the Insurance Act, which the insured failed to report.

The trial judge granted relief under s. 171 of the Act, finding the condition unjust or unreasonable in these circumstances since the vacancy was rectified before the fire.

The Court of Appeal reversed, holding s. 171 did not apply to statutory conditions.

The Supreme Court of Canada allowed the appeal, concluding that s. 171 applies to statutory conditions that are unjust or unreasonable in their application, and restored the trial judge's decision.

The appellant was rendered a paraplegic when a diseased tree located on private property adjacent to a provincial highway fell on his truck.

The appellant sued the provincial Department of Transportation for negligence in failing to identify and remove the tree.

The Supreme Court of Canada held that while the province owes a duty of care to maintain highways, which includes removing obvious hazards on adjacent lands, the Department's decision to conduct a limited survey of dead trees was a policy decision involving resource allocation and thus exempt from tort liability.

Furthermore, the Department was not negligent in carrying out the survey, as the tree appeared healthy and its disease was not apparent to a layperson.