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www.canadianlawyermag.com 39 based on the advice of its insurers, appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada. The case was never about whether Marchi, who ended up in a hospital in another city, was injured in the snowbank fall – both sides agreed that she was. However, the seven Supreme Court judges had to decide if a municipality's core policies, such as the obli- gation to maintain its streets, were immune from negligence claims. In October 2021, the court decided they were, but it also found problems with the city's snow-clearing operations and ordered a new trial in BC's Supreme Court. The SCC outlined four factors to be considered in assessing whether the nature of a government's decision was policy or operational: • the level and responsibilities of the deci- sion-maker • the process by which the decision was made • the nature and extent of budgetary considerations • the extent to which the decision was based on objective criteria The principle of policy immunity is a doctrine intended to create a separation of power so that courts aren't stepping over and interfering with elected officials' rights; it protects a municipality or other govern- ment from liability when that body makes a policy decision. In their reasons, Justices Andromache Karakatsanis and Sheilah Martin noted the definition of "policy" as "a high-level overall plan embracing the general goals and acceptable procedures, especially of a governmental body." "The underlying rationale – protecting the legislative and executive branch's core institu- tional roles and competencies necessary for the separation of powers – serves as an over- arching guiding principle for how to weigh the factors in the analysis," the justices wrote. The city of Nelson, BC, claimed that its decisions about snowplowing – resulting in snowbanks along the city curbs that separated parking stalls from sidewalks – MARCHI'S FOUR FACTORS FOR DETERMINING 'OPERATIONAL' OR 'CORE POLICY' "There are pros and cons for lawyers for the plaintiff and the public authority. The question is whether [the SCC decision] will prolong the litigation process or streamline it" Lyndsay Jardine, Wagners the level and responsibilities of the decision-maker the process by which the decision was made – a deliberative decision balancing competing objectives, or a matter of custom? the nature and extent of budgetary considerations – the big policy picture, not individual cost considerations the extent to which the decision was based on objective criteria