Condominium corporations are often seeking innovative ways to enhance the aesthetic appeal of their properties and foster community engagement among residents. One effective approach is the implementation of volunteer gardening committees; however, it is imperative that corporations balance the benefits with effective risk management strategies to ensure a safe environment for all volunteers and to limit the corporation’s exposure to potential liability.

1. Garden Committee Policy

To ensure that a volunteer garden committee operates effectively and within their authority, it is imperative that a corporation first create a garden committee policy.

This policy should outline the scope of the committee’s responsibilities, including specific tasks they are authorized to perform and areas they are allowed to work on. It should also detail the process for selecting committee members and the duration of their service. The policy should also stipulate that every committee member must provide the corporation with an executed copy of the related waiver and acknowledgement, which should be included as a schedule to the policy, prior to engaging in any committee-related activities.

2. Waiver

Corporations owe a duty of care under the Occupiers’ Liability Act, 1990, R.S.O. 1990 c. O.2 to take reasonable steps to protect people from foreseeable harm while on the corporation’s common elements. Corporations, however, can restrict, modify and exclude this duty of care vis-a-vie waivers of liability.

To mitigate potential liability, corporations should require volunteers to sign a waiver and acknowledgement that clearly outlines the risks involved in the committee-related activities to be undertaken and state that volunteers assume responsibility for any and all injuries or damage that may occur in relation to the committee-related activities that they take part in.

3. Committee Chair

By appointing a member of the board to act as the chair of the committee, the corporation will be better equipped to oversee committee activities, ensure that it is complying with the related policy, and promote effective communication between the board and the committee.

4. Insurance

Acts and omissions of volunteers may not be covered by insurance policies that a corporation maintains. To get around this issue, a corporation could appoint individual committee members as officers of the corporation vis-vis a board resolution, in which case their acts and omissions would thereafter likely be covered by the corporation’s directors’ and officers’ liability insurance.

To ensure that a corporation’s insurer does not deny any potential claims under the corporation’s general liability and property insurance, it would be wise for a corporation to notify its insurer of the gardening tasks that the committee has been granted the authority to perform, as well as the policies implemented by the corporation to manage the activities of the committee and action taken to limit the corporation’s exposure to potential liability.

By implementing the risk management strategies discussed above, corporations will be able to limit their risk exposure while at the same time promoting community engagement and improving the aesthetic appeal of their property.

Ashley Winberg is one of the leading condominium lawyers in Ontario and is the head of corporate practice at Pulver on Condos, which is a boutique condominium law firm that provides specialized legal services to condominium corporations and unit owners throughout Ontario. Ashley can be reached at [email protected].