Rustad, Conservatives want to take money from people and give it to big insurance corporations

October 3, 2024

John Rustad and the BC Conservatives’ plans for ICBC means taking money directly out of the pockets of British Columbians and handing it over to big insurance corporations.

“John Rustad was a part of the BC Liberals government that tried to run ICBC into the ground, and now they want British Columbians to pay two to three times more for their car insurance,” said Annette Toth, President of MoveUP, the union that represents workers at ICBC.

Thanks to the reforms introduced by David Eby and the BC NDP in 2020, British Columbians now enjoy one of the lowest auto insurance rates across the country. Provinces that have private auto insurance, such as Alberta and Ontario, pay the highest in auto insurance in the country.

“John Rustad’s track record shows he has no credibility when it comes to ICBC,” said Toth. “He not only wants us to pay more for our auto insurance, but he also wants us to hand our hard-earned wages over to multinational insurance corporations that have a profit motive, make little to no investments in our local economies and communities, and don’t create jobs in BC.

“John Rustad and the BC Conservatives don’t care that British Columbians will pay dramatically more for their car insurance under their plan. They don’t care that our communities will have less investment contributions for initiatives such as road improvements and road safety. They don’t care that 6,000 jobs will be at risk.

“John Rustad and the BC Conservatives don’t care about British Columbians. Their plan would be a disaster for the people of British Columbia who rely on affordable auto insurance, and for the workers at ICBC. John Rustad and the BC Conservatives present a risk to our economy and our communities that we can’t afford.”