Last weekend, as many
of you are aware, the BC Liberal Party held their annual convention, and at the
AGM, they actually brought up the topic of ICBC, and the possibility of opening
it up to competition.
AT LAST!
But you should understand that the BC Liberals are actually,
“Johnny come lately”, to the ICBC discussion. Regardless … Johnny come lately or not, they
have finally come to the realization that ICBC, as it currently operates, is not
sustainable.
On Twitter BC Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson posted (
ICBC is a state-owned monopoly and it’s
getting pretty tired. Is there only one way to do this? We have to do this with
an open mind. Maybe it’s time to have competition. Let’s not be timid.
While at the same time telling BC Liberal members,
attending the convention that, “Four
little letter come to mind … I – C – B- C”
At the twelve-minute mark of his speech he asked:
Is there
only one way to do this, he said before going on to ask
if perhaps it might be time for … an overhaul,
root and branch, of ICBC … and wonder of wonders stating … maybe its time to turn it into a co-op, mutual
insurance company where you’re all shareholders … privatize … and … open it to competition
Guess what Andrew … you’re three months late! BC Conservatives have already committed to
turning ICBC
into a co-operative, ensuring that BC drivers who pay premiums will be the ones
who own the organization. Here’s what Scott Anderson, BC
Conservative Party Interim leader, had to say on August 10th:
“We agree with the Canadian Taxpayers
Federation that ICBC should be turned into a co-operative owned by BC drivers”
“Competition also must be opened up to
private companies for basic insurance in order to reduce insurance rates for
everyone. It is completely unacceptable that BC drivers now pay the highest
insurance premiums in Canada!”
Anderson continued saying, “The NDP built ICBC, the Liberals destroyed it, and now the NDP are
trying to fix the sinking ship with skyrocketing insurance rates. A guaranteed
way to ensure that BC drivers no longer pay the highest insurance rates in
Canada is to turn ICBC into a co-op, then open up basic insurance to
competition”.
The BC Taxpayers Federation, in an email to
supporters, asked people to keep the pressure on, and to … thank Wilkinson for making
such strong statements in favour of ending the ICBC monopoly.
Maybe while I’m at it, I’ll also email the BC Taxpayers
Federation to say I’m glad that the Johnny come lately BC Liberals have finally
got the message – but as usually – when it comes to fiscal responsibility it
the BC Conservative Party that has the game ball.
In
Kamloops, I'm Alan Forseth. If you have a thought on this commentary, I
hope you will share it directly below in the Comments Section of the blog.
Better late than never. Any chance the Greens and Liberals can work together to get a bill passed, or do we have to wait until after the next election?
ReplyDeleteThere is no chance of Greens joining with the BC Liberals, on thus change. Despite Weavers pius pronouncements if doing politics different, he is only interested in what's best for him. He has proven that numerous times since the last electiin by voting with / supporting the NDP on things he avowed complete opposition to.
ReplyDelete