Falcon still defends taking a half million dollars from ICBC while hiking rates
BC Liberal Leader Kevin Falcon is still defending his decision to take half a billion dollars from ICBC while increasing insurance rates.
In his only budget as Finance Minister in 2012, Falcon increased basic insurance premiums by 11.2 per cent while taking $497 million over three years of its “excess optional capital to support core government services.”
This practice contributed to the BC Liberal dumpster fire at ICBC and was banned by David Eby in 2020.
This week, Falcon was asked about this practice on CHNL radio. He defended it:
“The fact of the matter is it’s a Crown corporation owned by government, and our summary financial accounts include that as a part of government. The fact of the matter is there’s no raiding that takes place.”
BC NDP MLA Aman Singh:
“Kevin Falcon took millions from ICBC to pay for tax breaks for the wealthiest while hiking premiums on everyone else. David Eby banned this practice to protect drivers and keep insurance rates affordable. The fact that Kevin Falcon still thinks it’s ok shows he would make life harder and more expensive for people, just like he did before.”