Former Transportation Minister Todd Stone is defending himself after the release of a 2015 video that apparently shows him giving away an ICBC building to the Automotive Retailers Association.
Speaking on NL Newsday, Stone, the Kamloops-South Thompson MLA, says he makes no apologies for doing everything he could for four years to keep rates low.
He admitted that he went a little bit too far at the time, but says his words have also been taken out of context by the NDP.
“We were in some intense discussions at that point, that included potentially the building, but more broadly, it was about transferring the overall technical training responsibilities from ICBC to industry,” he said. “Come the Spring of 2016, it was abundantly clear to me there was not a deal to be had that was in the best interest of the corporation and the ratepayers, and so I said, ‘we’re not going to do this.'”
Stone adds in 2015, there were cost pressures at ICBC, like there are today.
“I’m not denying the words that I said in that speech. There was a high degree of hope and excitement that we were making progress in our discussions,” he added. “I admit went a little bit too far in terms of the expectations that I set. We had more work to do, more negotiations to do, and at the end of the day there was no deal to be had, so we didn’t do it.”
ICBC remains a political hot potato in the province, with the Liberals are accusing the current government of unfairly increasing insurance rates for families with inexperienced drivers.
“Rates went up about 18 per cent over a ten year period under the BC Liberals. Rates have gone up 18 per cent in only two and a half years under the NDP,” Stone said. “The NDP need to start owning this file, they’ve got to fix the problems.”
But the NDP are quick to point out the fiscal mismanagement at the public insurer started under the Liberals.
Wow. Andrew Wilkinson getting caught making stuff up to cover Todd Stone’s tracks on #ICBC. It’s hard to deny when it’s all on video. 😳#bcpoli pic.twitter.com/QIk10HXzb7
— Ravi kahlon (@KahlonRav) October 29, 2019
