BC NDP Leader David Eby says his party would freeze basic car insurance rates for three years, amid a campaign dispute over the province’s Enhanced Care no-fault model.
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BC NDP Leader David Eby said his party would freeze basic car insurance rates through the Insurance Bureau of British Columbia for three years if elected, delivering the pledge during campaigning in Richmond on Thursday morning.
Eby’s announcement came after interim BC Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson and Eby traded barbs about the future of the province’s Enhanced Care model, a no-fault insurance system introduced by the BC NDP in 2021.
Doerkson said in public that the no-fault model has been “very challenging” for residents, adding that while the system is meant to provide affordable coverage, it has not supported people who face catastrophic or life-altering injuries as well as it should.
The dispute also centred on a Sept. 29 letter from Doerkson that became public through the MoveUp union, which represents workers at ICBC. In the letter, Doerkson said all options are on the table, including a hybrid model.
In the same letter, Doerkson wrote that new legislation would be passed within a year of a BC Conservative election, saying accident victims would regain the right to recover for serious injuries and that government would “get out of the legal profession’s business.”
Doerkson said Thursday that the letter sent to trial lawyers was not intended to be private, and he pointed to what he described as “very serious and real challenges” associated with the current system.
Eby said during the campaign that his government is conducting a review of the Enhanced Care model and that the BC Conservatives’ proposed shift to a hybrid system would increase insurance costs. He also said the Conservatives “won’t tell us how they’re gonna pay for their promises.”
Doerkson said he did not make “no promises” about the plan, and he argued that any changes would need to keep insurance affordable and ensure support for people injured in crashes.
On Thursday morning, the BC Conservatives also announced a $1,000 tax cut for most British Columbians, meaning residents would not have to pay income tax on their first $32,000 in earnings.
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