THE BC Liberals are calling for Premier John Horgan and the NDP to apologize to British Columbians for attempting to force unconstitutional changes to the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) that will now cost ICBC customers over $400 million after losing yet another court case.
“Without consultation or respect for the constitution, John Horgan and his hand-picked Attorney General David Eby decided to limit British Columbians’ use of medical expert reports in ICBC cases,” said BC Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson on Thursday. “NDP Attorney General David Eby blatantly disrespected the law and had to be put in place by the BC Supreme Court today. This is an embarrassment and British Columbians deserve an apology.”
The NDP’s changes to ICBC have been a disaster, with decisions like rate increases across the board and heavy financial burdens placed on parents of young drivers provoking anger throughout British Columbia, said the B.C. Liberals.
“British Columbians are frustrated with ICBC. It is no longer working for people,” added Jas Johal, MLA for Richmond-Queensborough. “ICBC rates are sky-rocketing under the NDP and people in our province are paying the highest car insurance premiums in the country. It’s time to introduce choices in auto insurance.”
B.C. drivers have seen the average ICBC premium go up a whopping 18.2 per cent under the NDP, and ICBC projects a 24 per cent increase in premium prices over the next three years, noted the B.C. Liberals.
“David Eby’s tinkering with ICBC has not only cost British Columbians more for auto insurance but it also just blew a $400 million hole in John Horgan’s budget,” added Wilkinson. “Two years into their mandate, after 19 new and increased taxes and no plan to grow the economy, John Horgan and the NDP have burned through the surplus left by the BC Liberals and will now have to drain the contingency fund or run a deficit because of losing yet another foolish court case.”
What a ridiculous thing for the Liberals to say. I would point out that the Liberal Party controlled ICBC for 16 years and during that time siphoned off millions upon millions of dollars to mislead the voters into thinking they were meeting their budget goals. Really, all they were doing was obstructing ICBC’s ability to functions as a profitable corporation and compelling it to borrow, borrow, borrow so the money could be forked over to the Liberal controlled government. Now they criticise the NDP for tryinbg to correct the Liberal mismanagement. That’s just plain hypocrisy. If anyone needs to apologise, it is the Liberals for running ICBC into the ground in the first place.