By Chad Klassen

Stone says it’s up to the NDP government to turn ICBC around

Feb 2, 2018 | 8:02 AM

KAMLOOPS — After his Liberal leadership rally on Thursday, Todd Stone addressed the potential of ICBC losing up to $1.3 billion this fiscal year, saying it’s on the new government to take action on previous recommendations. 

Stone, the former minister responsible for ICBC, says his successor David Eby, who referred to ICBC this week as a “financial dumpster fire,” has ignored some of the recommendations put on his desk by the Liberals. 

“They need to get on with action. It’s their job to come forward with some tangible solutions to address the financial challenges facing ICBC,” said Stone. “We threw all kinds of initiatives at the challenge of financial headwinds, actually $3 billion of savings or new revenues as a result of the actions we took in the last five years alone.”

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When asked if he and his party ignored the financial downfall for too long and didn’t act quick enough on a third-party report to ICBC in 2014, Stone argued he enacted every recommendation in it. 

“We implemented a broad range of initiatives. We transferred $1.5 billion from optional to basic capital. We implemented a fraud analytics program that saves $44 million a year. We implemented a new IT system, which saves ICBC $90 million per year. A new windshield program. We doubled luxury vehicle premiums. We made very significant investments in road safety. We significantly enhanced the distracted driving penalties, and on and on and on,” said Stone. 

“Tremendous amount of action, but we recognized that the financial challenges at ICBC were continuing to mount and that’s why in December 2016 we had the board at ICBC commission the independent review. Our intention was to act on that report, to act on its contents. Should we have won that last election.”