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Media Information
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PRESS RELEASE
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For Immediate Release |
Contact: Visit Vancouver
Phone: 604-728-8105
More Info: www.VisitVancouver.bc.ca
- ICBC, BC's Sponsorship Scandal?
www.VisitVancouver.bc.ca/article-icbc.asp
- Minister Coleman, (Minister responsible for ICBC portfolio), Questions to the Minister
www.VisitVancouver.bc.ca/minister-coleman.html
- What does the Premier know?
www.VisitVancouver.bc.ca/premier-campbell.html
- Minister Collins, mums the word
www.VisitVancouver.bc.ca/gary-collins.html
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ICBC, BC's Sponsorship Scandal?
In what may be the biggest scandal todate for the Insurance Corporation Of British Columbia (ICBC),
the Crown corporation has set the precedent for changing a policy and not making the change public, then
accusing people of non-compliance and forcing driver re-examinations, road testing and payment of hefty fees.
In November 1999, ICBC changed the five year renewal policy for expired drivers licenses
(which had been in existence for well over twenty years)
from five years to three years. Although ICBC had statistics which showed that a
minimum of 38,000 people annually (1995 - 1999) would be affected by the change,
ICBC did not make the policy change public. As current as last year, people who were renewing were still being told that
letters had been sent out and public notices had been made.
According to
ICBC's Manager of Fair Practices, Steve Heather, "ICBC did not issue any public notices concerning this policy change.
The purpose of the policy change was to enhance public safety by ensuring people who had not driven for a specified period of time
- three years - were still sufficiently skilled to be driving. To provide a public notice so that individuals who would
fall into that category could renew their license before the rules changed would contradict that purpose."
Although the thousands affected by the unannounced policy change had done nothing wrong, people had to
undergo driver re-examinations and road testing, and to pay fees totalling $125, or more in order to receive driver's license renewal.
In effect,
people paid for ICBC's wrongdoing.
Our site poll asks the question of site visitors "Does ICBC have the right to force compliance
with unannounced laws/policies?"
5% say yes.
3% sometimes.
49% say no.
44% say never.
93% agree that ICBC does not have the right
to force compliance with unannounced laws or policies.
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Additional Information |
 View the statistics provided by ICBC
Articles:
ICBC, BC's Sponsorship Scandal?
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