Duty of persons undertaking acts
217 Every one who undertakes to do an act is under a legal duty to do it if an omission to do the act is or may be dangerous to life.
Annotations | French
- Section 217
- Section 2 defines “every one” and “person.”
- Section 217 establishes a legal duty between persons based on the undertaking of an act. An undertaking is a promise that a person intends to fulfill which contains something another person can reasonably rely on. It is more than just saying words that show you intend to do something. The legal duty arises from the undertaking as opposed to the relationship between the parties: R v Browne, 1997 33 OR (3d) 775 (Ont CA) at paras 14—16, leave to appeal to SCC refused.
- An individual that promised, “I’ll take you to the hospital,” to a friend he found overdosing on drugs was found not to have undertaken to help their friend for the purposes of Section 217: R v Browne, 1997 33 OR (3d) 775 (Ont CA) at para 18, leave to appeal to SCC refused.
- A physician who removes a life-supporting respirator at the request of a mentally competent patient will not fail a legal duty under Section 217: Nancy B v Hotel-Dieu de Quebec , 1992 CanLII 8511 (QCCS) at paras 11-13, 52—61, 71; Carter v Canada (Attorney General), 2012 BCSC 886 at paras 213-216, rev’d in part on other grounds 2013 BCCA 435, rev’d 2015 SCC 5.
- A Failure to Uphold a Legal Duty Under Section 217 Can Lead to Charges Under Certain Offenses
- Failing a legal duty under Section 217 is not an offense. However, this failure can lead to charges that penalize a failure to uphold a legal duty, including criminal negligence where it meets the elements of that offence: R v Canadian Liquid Air Ltd (1972), 20 CRNS 208, 1972 CarswellBC 4 (BCSC) at para 10; R v Kendall, 2022 BCSC 998 at paras 50—51.