CTF would like to see ICBC turned into a co-op with private competitors
Posted September 5, 2017 11:36 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Competition is key to helping solve the problems behind our insurance corporation according to a tax watchdog group.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation would also like to see ICBC turned into a co-op like what’s in place for Vancity.
Kris Sims is the BC Director of the CTF. She says she understands that the idea for ICBC came decades ago, but things change.
“ICBC was your baby way back in the 70s, but if you had the option right now of nationalizing a coal mine or making the province take over a telecom company, would you do that? I doubt it.”
Sims says it pairs with some of the other ideas of the era that haven’t aged well. “We literally had shag rugs and lava lamps.”
She believes using a co-op system for ICBC would mean that governments will not be able to take money from the corporation to artificially balance the books and adding private competition to the mix will only help with skyrocketing rates.
“Let’s open ICBC to competition so drivers in BC can actually shop for their best rates and not be forced into these sky-high premiums from a government controlled monopoly that is politically manipulated,” says Sims.
She calls the proposals a middle ground between people who want to keep ICBC and those who want a private system.
