The status of risk management practices and liability litigation in Ontario municipal recreation and parks departments

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the extent of risk management practices of Ontario municipal recreation departments and to determine if varying levels of risk management practices were related to liability litigation. All directors of municipal recreation (n = 120) in the Society of Directors of Municipal Recreation in Ontario (SDMRO) were selected to participate in the study. Each director was sent a six-page questionnaire designed to identify the extent of liability litigation against their department in the last three years, the extent of their risk management practices over the past three years, and descriptive items that identified the community size and programs and services of each department. Sixty-eight valid questionnaires (56.6%) were received and compiled for grouped analyses. Fifty-seven percent of the responding departments have not had any liability claims made against their department in the last three years. The average number of claims filed against departments in the last three ...