Letters, Nov. 22: Don’t blame ICBC for delays in getting ride hailing off the ground in B.C., says reader
rerolled on giantweed from the source
Some people are upset that access to Uber and other ride-hailing services won’t arrive for another nine to 12 months after the provincial government’s recent announcement on opening up the taxi market. Before everyone starts foaming at the mouth and putting targets on ICBC’s back for any delay, remember the following: Both the B.C. Liberals and the NDP have been kicking this issue down the road for the past three years and have only now finally come up with rules to proceed.
ICBC can only develop a product once it knows the parameters that will apply. There may well be insurance companies in other provinces that insure Uber, but not all companies do because it is not viewed by all as a desirable class of business. So saying, ‘Just copy other provinces’, isn’t a solution.
ICBC has government-mandated basic insurance, so they have to develop their own model, which takes time and actuary review. They need the time to price it right as they are in a tight financial situation, and the last thing they need is to sell a product that loses them even more money. So caution will be the word of the day.
In the meantime, if we want to complain about anything, maybe instead we should look at the lack of late-night service provided by TransLink.
Andrew Tablotney, LeGear Pelling Insurance Agencies, Richmond
Government efficiency at its best
Claire Trevena, our illustrious minister of transportation, said Monday that “We’re working as quickly as we can” on ride-hailing.
This is another example of government incompetence at its best. I wonder how much the taxi industry contributed to the NDP election coffers?
Glenn Nordal, Langley
Legal pot a bad idea
Legalizing marijuana is going to turn out to be a huge mistake.
I may be naive, but it appears that government wants its share of the marijuana pie in the form of taxes. Making cannabis legal will mean more motor-vehicle accidents, with who know how much damages and deaths. Simply put, legalization of pot is adding another brick on North America’s road to self-destruction.
George Pearson, Adams Lake
Vote PR or right wing will win
We desperately need a proportional-representation electoral system that insures the inclusion of the entire electorate.
However, the B.C. Liberal’s choice — our current first-past-the-post voting system — excludes the majority of ballots cast from having any effect on the governance of the province. Sticking with FPTP would ensure the Liberal ideology of privatization, deregulation and cuts to social programs will continue. That would be heartbreaking — British Columbians, mainly young people, having to leave because they can’t afford to live here.
Janet Hudgins, Vancouver
Lib leader wants ‘undisputed control’
B.C. Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson is right about one thing — political decisions should not be made by minorities.
That is precisely why many people want to change our electoral system — to put an end to those fake-majority governments representing a minority of the people and making important decisions without consensus and consultation.
A majority vote is 50 per cent plus one of the ballots cast. That is a democratic vote anywhere in the world and that is what will decide whether we change our electoral system. Wilkinson does not want democracy. He does not want to have to consult anybody. He wants undisputed control, just like former prime minister Stephen Harper and current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Andy Thomsen, Kelowna
Letters to the editor should be sent to provletters@theprovince.com. The editorial pages editor is Gordon Clark, who can be reached at gclark@postmedia.com.
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