Earlier this year, the UCP government rammed through the legislative assembly a no-fault auto insurance bill under which Albertans would see their rates rise and rights removed. Thankfully, the bill is not scheduled for proclamation until 2027 (our next Alberta election year), affording Premier Danielle Smith the opportunity to exercise sober second thought, to listen to expert economists, stakeholders in the legal profession and the insurance industry, and most importantly, to the will of the populace, and scrap this ill-advised no-fault scheme. In poll after poll over the last couple of years, a solid majority of Albertans have spoken loud and clear, supporting the rights of innocent injured car crash victims to receive full and fair compensation from reckless drivers’ insurance companies for pain and suffering, income loss, medical expenses and other damages. .HANNAFORD: A quarter-trillion more... Ottawa’s budget of deception.Albertans, well aware that private auto insurance corporations have raked in billions of dollars in windfall profits over the past five years, strongly support capping insurer profit margins in order to stabilize and reduce premiums. Interestingly, a report commissioned by the Alberta government last year found that keeping our existing at-fault (tort law) auto insurance system intact, but replacing the private, profit-driven auto insurance companies with a single, non-profit public insurer, would save the average good Alberta motorist hundreds of dollars per year in premium payments. .Short of booting private auto insurers out of the province in favour of a public auto insurance corporation, well over a year ago, the Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers Association, the Insurance Bureau of Canada, and the Insurance Brokers Association of Alberta arrived at consensus solutions to reform the existing tort law system so as to afford significant rate relief to policyholders. These proposed reforms included removing minor injuries (which amount to approximately 80% of claims) from the at-fault insurance system, instead permitting Albertans the option of purchasing minor injury compensation coverage from their own insurer. Astonishingly, despite this consensus amongst informed stakeholders, Finance Minister Nate Horner ignored the recommendations and forged ahead with a so-called “Care-First” no-fault insurance proposal that both the insurance industry and Horner himself now admit probably will cost severely normal Albertans even more of our hard-earned money.Premier Smith is fond of comparing herself to the late great Ralph Klein, who was a true man of the people. To this point in time, however, the comparison is reminiscent of a 1988 United States vice presidential debate in which Dan Quayle infamously compared himself to President John F. Kennedy, allowing VP nominee Lloyd Bentsen to deliver one of the greatest retorts in political debating history. .SLOBODIAN: Are Manitobans too gullible to tell Halloween pranks from deadly home invaders? NDP thinks so.Klein, the last Premier in Alberta, led his party to consecutive general election victories; obviously, he was a human being who made mistakes. But one of his endearing qualities was that he would admit his errors, apologize, and correct course. For example, when in 1998 the Klein government introduced a bill in the legislature to remove the rights of forcibly sterilized individuals to sue for compensation, King Ralph promptly instructed his Justice Minister to withdraw the unjust bill. Similarly, in 2003 when Premier Klein’s Finance Minister proposed a plan to cap car insurance compensation for people suffering injuries just short of catastrophic, Klein’s caucus put a stop to that scheme in favour of the Minor Injury Regulation, which was implemented in 2004 and remains in place to this day.Ralph Klein was a flawed human being, as are we all. But I can tell you that I met with Ralph Klein over 22 years ago to discuss auto insurance reform and urge his Progressive Conservative government not to rip away the longstanding civil legal rights of innocent Albertans left in chronic pain caused by reckless drivers. To his credit, Ralph Klein listened. Premier Smith, you’re no Ralph Klein, but there’s still time to emulate his exemplary humility and reverse course.About the author: Both on national TV and in the print media, Danielle Smith used to have the good sense to consult Mark McCourt on auto insurance reform matters. She'll have a chance to give her head a shake and consult McCourt again at the UCP AGM being held in Edmonton at the end of this month.
