City denies culpability after boy hurt at Fort Gibraltar

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/11/2023 (648 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The City of Winnipeg has denied legal responsibility for injuries suffered by a boy when a platform collapsed at Fort Gibraltar in May.

Grade 5 students from St. John’s-Ravenscourt School were on a field trip at the historic site in Whittier Park on May 31, when they heard a cracking noise before two sections of the platform collapsed.

The collapse caused 28 people to fall to the ground about six metres below. At the time, officials said 17 children and one adult had suffered various injuries and were taken to Health Sciences Centre.

In August, the parents of one injured boy filed a lawsuit against Festival du Voyageur, which operates the fort, and the City of Winnipeg, which owns the land, alleging both were negligent and breached their duties.

The lawsuit states the boy needed surgery to fix fractures in his right wrist and left hip and is at risk of permanent disability.

In its statement of defence, which was filed on Nov. 22, the city denies legal responsibility.

“The City of Winnipeg, denies the allegations made by the plaintiff in the statement of claim and denies that the plaintiff is entitled to… any relief at all as against the City of Winnipeg,” the document states.

The city also denies the municipal government was in physical possession of the land and its structures and denies that it had control over its condition.

The government “denies that it knew, or ought to have known, that the walkway was unsafe as alleged or at all,” the statement says.

“No act or omission of the City of Winnipeg was the cause of any legally compensable loss or damage suffered by the plaintiff,” it states.

The city also denies a claim that the last time repairs were made to the walkway was in 2004 and its last inspection took place in 2006.

In June, a city spokesman told the Free Press the last confirmed city building inspection was done in 2006, following repairs to the walkway in 2004.

If the plaintiff did suffer damages as the lawsuit alleges, which the city denies, the municipal government claims “such loss or damage was wholly or partly the result of the plaintiff’s own negligence, the particulars of which include failing to exercise reasonable care having regard to all of the circumstances,” the statement of defence claims.

The city calls for the lawsuit to be dismissed and that its court costs be covered.

The City of Winnipeg declined to answer questions about the matter on Tuesday; the lawyer who represents the boy’s parents could not be reached for comment.

Festival du Voyageur, a non-profit organization, is also fighting the lawsuit and is calling for the case to be thrown out.

In its statement of defence, the organization claims it took reasonable care and effort to ensure the space was safe, including following inspection and maintenance protocols.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

X: @joyanne_pursaga