LITTLE CURRENT—The board of Manitoulin Centennial Manor was faced with an interesting concern during their November 28 meeting—one that encompassed potential concerns about the popular sliding hill behind the Manor.
Administrator Don Cook outlined the issue. An agency staff member (a temporary employee hired from outside to fill a mandated vacancy in the staff roster) parked in the lot behind the Manor building. “Instead of coming in the side back door, she decided to go down the stairs and there’s a back door to the staff lounge (located on the bottom third floor). She started to go in and she got down to the bottom and I guess she lost her footing on the bottom step and slipped down one step and ended up breaking her leg.”
“So we called the Ministry of Labour because it was a serious injury,” he said. “They came and investigated, so there wasn’t really any findings out of all that.” But what did happen was a teachable moment for the administration. The ministry was fine with the decision to block off the stairs leading to the lower floor for the winter months.
It turns out that even if an injury was not to a worker, if it could have been, then it still has to be reported to the Ministry of Labour.
“So that kind of got us thinking more about the hill, too,” shared Mr. Cook. “If somebody else is using the hill, potentially, there could be a staff member out there.”
Mr. Cook sent a missive to the Extendicare insurance manager asking about the property liability. “And whether if we put any signs up, ‘use at your own risk.’ Does that help or hinder? Or is that really do anything or not?”
If someone were to get injured on the hill, and then the Manor does not report it to the Ministry of Labor—“then are we in trouble?”
The concerns contain many levels, as the sliding hill is very popular, not only with the people using it in the winter, but also for the residents who enjoy watching the fun transpire.
It was noted that a sliding hill at the golf course in Espanola was also very popular, but the golf course had to suspend sliding when Domtar closed its doors and no longer paid for the insurance.
The administrator will keep the board updated on the results of his inquiries. No immediate decision was made about public access to the sliding hill.
