B.C. election call crushed victims' hopes of being heard by committee reviewing ICBC's no-fault policy

Article content

Dean Ferrer of Kelowna was disappointed when the election call ended the work of a B.C. legislature special committee reviewing the first five years of ICBC’s no-fault insurance model. Photo by Handout/Dean Ferrer

Article content

He’s been told by the committee’s clerk that it’s uncertain what will happen to the submissions or the committee’s work as it depends on who wins the election and whether a new government would want to continue the committee. New members would have to be appointed.

Article content

“This is just a major delay and more people are going to suffer,” he said.

Article content

Government workers, including those in Crown corporations like ICBC, are in election caretaker mode and won’t comment about anything but matters of public safety.

Article content

Higginson said in an emailed statement that, if re-elected, an NDP government would resume the committee and any changes to laws or regulations “would be informed by the review.”

Article content

She didn’t say whether the NDP would be making no-fault a part of their campaign platform. Neither has the Conservative party decided on including it in its platform, Day said.

Article content

Day said under no fault, crash victims can get medical appointments paid faster than under the old system where they had to sue ICBC and wait, sometimes for years, for a judgment or settlement.

Article content

But he said for people in need of long-term disability coverage, it’s much harder. Without a third-party adjudicator independent of ICBC, he said, “when you have a costs-saving mandate like ICBC does, it runs into conflict.”

Article content

Article content

“It’s going to affect some people, like those in Lapu Lapu, who have been affected by this. The system failed them,” he said, referring to the dozens injured in the attack on a Vancouver Filipino festival last year, some of whom have spoken publicly about their difficult recovery.

Article content

“We need to bring some attention to this and to the fact ICBC needs some work no matter what government is in power,” said Day.

Article content

Indeed, the B.C. government, in an earlier written submission, suggested advocates may have to be added to the system to help people navigate the claims process, as some other provinces have.

Article content

Julia Kwan, recovering from her injuries and nine surgeries after she was hit by a dump truck as a pedestrian in Richmond two years ago, said the cancelled committee was “very disappointing.”

Article content

The victims’ “one opportunity to feel seen and heard has now ended and we do not know what the next steps are,” she said.

Article content

She will be sending a report she compiled from an online survey of victims, the vast majority of whom say they went through their ICBC claim without any help and struggled, to the party leaders and hopes “the findings can be considered and implemented into their platforms.” And she encouraged crash victims to share their stories with candidates and in their communities because “people need to know how enhanced care really is and change is needed now.”

Article content

The other committee members included NDP MLAs Jennifer Blatherwick (Coquitlam-Malliardville), George Chow (Vancouver-Fraserview), and Janet Rutledge (Burnaby North); Conservative MLA Steve Kooner (Richmond Queensborough); and Green party MLA Jeremy Valeriote (West Vancouver-Sea to Sky).

Article content

Article content