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.
