Quebec tables bill to prevent more lawsuits against snowmobile operators


Canadian Press


Thursday, December 16, 2004

QUEBEC -- Lawsuits against snowmobile operators won't be allowed for the next two years under legislation tabled Thursday by Premier Jean Charest's Liberal government.

The legislation comes after a group of residents in the Laurentians, north of Montreal, recently won a multimillion-dollar lawsuit on excessive noise caused by the machines on a trail near their homes.

The law would prohibit legal action based on disturbance, noise and odour complaints linked to the use of off-road vehicles including snowmobiles.

Liberal member Norman MacMillan said the government had to act.

"There a lot of Ski-Dooers in our region and we got a lot of phone calls,'' he said. "Economic-wise, we had to do something.''

The legislation would give snowmobile operators time to find other trails that aren't close to homes.

The recent judgment said the local residents who live within 100 metres of the offending trail will be entitled to $2,400 a year, retroactive to 1997.

The provincial government and the local municipal authority will have to share the costs, the judge ruled.