THE NDP on Wednesday noted that BC Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson and his caucus voted against legislation that will cut ICBC rates by 20 per cent while giving better benefits to those injured in car accidents.

The legislation, which was passed on Wednesday, overhauls ICBC with an enhanced care model that will save drivers an average of $400 per year by eliminating hundreds of millions of dollars in legal costs from the system.

These changes are similar to recommendations in a 2014 Ernst & Young report that would have prevented rate hikes. Instead of following the recommendations and keeping rates down, the BC Liberals secretly scrubbed those recommendations, said the NDP.

Even though the enhanced care system has operated successfully for decades in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, the BC Liberals chose again on Wednesday to support skyrocketing legal expenses that are driving up costs for drivers.

Attorney General David Eby said: “By taking legal costs out of the system to reduce ICBC rates by 20 per cent and increase benefits for the injured, we’re doing what the BC Liberals refused to do years ago. Andrew Wilkinson and the BC Liberals’ vote today shows they’re still not looking out for British Columbians.”