Alberta's United Conservative Party's (UCP) Annual General Meeting (AGM) is coming up — and there's one policy resolution that's high on UCP members' minds.The second item on the UCP policy resolution list will allow its members to vote on whether they want to repeal the Care-First auto insurance regulations that are set to be introduced in January 2027.The policy resolution seeks to "return to a tort-based system" — a system where victims can sue at-fault drivers.Members will be voting this upcoming weekend — and the Western Standard sat down with Karamveer Lalh, a lawyer at James H. Brown & Associates, who submitted the resolution, to discuss why he believes UCP members might prefer repealing Care-First.....Care-First insurance would operate under a regulatory system, while Alberta's current automobile insurance system operates under a mixed model, giving individuals who are injured in crashes coverage through their insurance.Compensation under Care-First would be paid through an individual's own insurance with an additional government-determined benefit similar to WCB.Under Care-First, Lalh says, "One of the concerns that I would have as a lawyer who represents folks who are injured in various types of accidents, mishaps, malpractice, is that when you're dealing with private companies, ultimately they're driven by their bottom lines.""They're not necessarily motivated by what's best for Albertans.""For example, even though, say, the WCB has lots of problems and lots of folks aren't happy with it, it is somewhat accountable to elected officials because it is a government-run system."."When you're dealing with private insurance companies and they're basically saying, 'Well, if you have a dispute with us, there's going to be no recourse and no meaningful way to dispute the decisions of a private company,'" he said."I think the concern that you'll see is folks will get cut off and you won't really be able to keep them effectively accountable to ensure that people who need it most are getting adequately compensated."What Lalh is referring to is: “Under Care-First, most claims will be resolved outside of court, but injured Albertans can still sue at-fault drivers convicted of serious offences like impaired driving or fleeing police," the Ministry of Treasury Board and Finance previously told the Western Standard.So far, only draft regulations are available regarding the litigation rights under Care-First, meaning details on the tribunal outside of court are not yet available..As to how UCP members might vote at the AGM for his proposed repeal of Care-First, Lalh says, "Ultimately, I think that conservative members should support fault-based insurance just because that's consistent with conservative values of accountability and personal responsibility.""I figured that conservative members would likely be in favour of repealing no fault insurance and returning back to a fault-based system."Want to know more about how Lalh believes the debate wil unfold?Click here and watch the whole clip to find out.
