2003-06-22

Comparing Thomas Walkom's column on auto insurance in Saturday's Star with James Daw's analysis in Friday's Business Section was very revealing. While Daw provided a lot of details, he failed to compare premiums and claims for provinces with public auto insurance.

Walkom's column on the other hand got right to the heart of the matter. The problem won't be solved by tinkering with regulations. Private auto insurance, like private medical insurance, is inherently more expensive than public insurance. That's why the provinces with public systems have lower and more stable rates.

It also makes life easier for drivers. There's no need to shop around for better rates.

The only quibble I have is that Walkom claims the NDP "are not terribly credible" because Bob Rae backed off on public auto insurance a decade ago. The short response to that is Howard Hampton is not Bob Rae. Hampton and the NDP's publicpower platform are committed to public services. The current nationwide crisis in auto insurance makes it clear that public auto insurance is an idea whose time has come again.

Bob Rae abandoned public auto insurance after the insurance industry admitted that the public service could do the job so much better that it would cost 5,000 jobs. With unemployment already climbing as the world entered into the worst recession since the great depression, Bob Rae apparently decided to accept the inefficiency of the private sector in order to preserve jobs.

Howard Hampton's publicpower platform is very clear on the need for a strong public infrastructure. When the NDP forms the next government, public auto insurance will come to Ontario.

Gary Dale, Provincial NDP Candidate
Scarborough East