Close X
Tuesday, December 3, 2024
ADVT 
National

Fraser Institute Study Lists Bad Decisions, Failure To Act, As ICBC Debt Mounted

The Canadian Press, 06 Apr, 2018 05:07 PM
    VANCOUVER — A study from a Vancouver-based public policy think tank blames what it terms "misguided decisions" and runaway costs for the current financial crisis at the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia.
     
     
    The Fraser Institute study, authored by John Chant, a professor emeritus of economics at Simon Fraser University, finds the corporation's problems began years ago and grew steadily worse with government inaction.
     
     
    The newly elected New Democrat government confirms the corporation faces a $1.3 billion loss this fiscal year and Chant says the public insurer had a $889 million loss last year.
     
     
    He says the corporation's basic insurance operation, which has a monopoly over mandatory coverage, suffered persistent losses for years but received infusions of $1.4 billion between 2010 and 2017 from the then-profitable optional insurance side of the business.
     
     
    The former Liberal government also transferred $1.2 billion to provincial coffers from optional insurance but Chant says when that side of the corporation also began losing money, no action was taken to boost rates or stop the slide.
     
     
     
     
    The corporation's current financial position is unsustainable, he says, noting rate hikes totalling 44 per cent would have been required between 2015 and 2017 just to offset rising costs.
     
     
    "Faced with exploding costs, the previous B.C. government had a choice: contain the costs, take the unpopular decision to increase rates substantially, or enact large-scale reform of the basic auto insurance system in the province. In the end, the government chose to do nothing," Chant says in a news release.
     
     
    No one from the Liberal Opposition was available to comment on the report.
     
     
    Chant says the current government deserves credit for acknowledging the problems but the corporation's role must be rethought and any fix will not be simple, or inexpensive. 
     
     
    "The kind of Band-Aid solutions they've used in the past simply won't be enough to fix its problems moving forward," he concludes.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Calgary Skydiver Killed In Southern California Roof Crash

    Calgary Skydiver Killed In Southern California Roof Crash
    PERRIS, Calif. — Authorities have identified a skydiver who died when he fell onto the roof of a home in Southern California.

    Calgary Skydiver Killed In Southern California Roof Crash

    Rush Hulk Can Attend Lacrosse Came In Calgary, But Can't Act Like A Mascot

    Rush Hulk Can Attend Lacrosse Came In Calgary, But Can't Act Like A Mascot
    CALGARY — The Calgary Roughnecks say a Saskatchewan Rush fan who dresses up as the Incredible Hulk can come to this weekend's lacrosse game, but he can't act as a team mascot.

    Rush Hulk Can Attend Lacrosse Came In Calgary, But Can't Act Like A Mascot

    Jagmeet Singh: New Democrats Are Ready To Fight Growing Gap Between Canada's Rich And Poor

    Jagmeet Singh: New Democrats Are Ready To Fight Growing Gap Between Canada's Rich And Poor
    OTTAWA — Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh kicked off two days of strategy sessions with members of his caucus on Wednesday with a message: New Democrats are ready to fight the growing gap between Canada's rich and poor.

    Jagmeet Singh: New Democrats Are Ready To Fight Growing Gap Between Canada's Rich And Poor

    'Don't Patronize Me': Tempers Flare As Old, New B.C. Liberal Leadership Candidates Debate

    'Don't Patronize Me': Tempers Flare As Old, New B.C. Liberal Leadership Candidates Debate
    VANCOUVER — Tempers flared at the B.C. Liberal leadership debate in Vancouver as veterans butted heads over the future of the party with newer faces calling for change.

    'Don't Patronize Me': Tempers Flare As Old, New B.C. Liberal Leadership Candidates Debate

    10 Safeway Stores To Be Shuttered In B.C. As Labour Negotiations Begin

    NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. — A union representing Safeway employees in British Columbia says 10 stores in the province will be permanently closed as labour negotiations are set to begin.

    10 Safeway Stores To Be Shuttered In B.C. As Labour Negotiations Begin

    CP Rail Fires Conductor Again, This Time After Sexy Social Media Pictures And Posts

    CP Rail Fires Conductor Again, This Time After Sexy Social Media Pictures And Posts
    CALGARY — A Canadian Pacific Railway conductor who was fired following a 2014 derailment in Banff and later reinstated has been dismissed again — this time over social media posts that included several sexy modelling photos.

    CP Rail Fires Conductor Again, This Time After Sexy Social Media Pictures And Posts