COMMENTS in the Legislature by BC Liberal MLA Teresa Wat show the BC Liberals continue to support the raiding of ICBC reserves that pushed the auto insurer into the red and took money from the pockets of BC drivers, said Richmond-Queensborough MLA Aman Singh on Wednesday.
“The BC Liberals still don’t get it,” said Singh. “They raided billions from ICBC and made drivers pay for it, and now we’ve learned they still support raiding ICBC reserve funds.”
After BC NDP MLAs criticized the past BC Liberal choice to take $1.2 billion from ICBC reserves, Wat admitted and defended the decision during debate on Tuesday in the Legislature:
“These revenue transfer policies, the facts are indisputable. Between 2012 and 2016 a total of $514 million was transferred from ICBC to government to support critical government services such as healthcare and education,” said Wat (Hansard, March 16, 2021)
From 2009 to 2016, the BC Liberals took a total of $1.2 billion from ICBC reserves. This decision undermined the finances of ICBC and caused insurance rates to skyrocket in the following years. (Vancouver Sun)
Premier John Horgan and the BC NDP made raiding ICBC illegal in July, 2020. The BC Liberals criticized the bill and voted against it. (CBC, Global News)
“We’ve worked hard to undo the BC Liberals’ choices and reduce car insurance rates for people,” said Singh. “Starting May 1, drivers will pay about $400 less for their insurance every year. It’s clear that the BC Liberals are still not working for people.”