Why do good drivers also get socked with higher rates?
Attorney General David Eby says the provincial government will fix the financial problems at ICBC “to make rates affordable for people.” He further said that an obvious solution is to ensure that “good drivers are rewarded and bad drivers pay more.”
I consider myself one of the former — one minor fender-bender in 44 years and with the maximum safe driving discount available. Then Eby announced that my insurance is going up almost seven per cent in November, and God only knows how much more next year.
My sense of betrayal is only overshadowed by my anger at Eby’s carpetbagger tactics. To quote The Who’s Pete Townshend: “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.” I think I hear Tommy Douglas turning over in his grave.
I’m looking forward to election day in 2021. Robert Brown, Cranbrook
ICBC making life tougher
We have thousands of people in this province struggling on a daily basis to make ends meet, and now ICBC is going to make that task even more difficult.
When you consider all the single parents, people on fixed incomes, people just trying to put food on the table or clothe their children, where is the NDP’s consideration for these people? What is bothersome is that the situation is an easy fix. The provincial government has a huge surplus that came from ICBC. So, why not just give it back?
Why put more undue stress on people who are struggling? The only answer I can come up with is that it is just plain old greed. Al Reimer, Sardis
Hire youth to trim forests
Going forward, the provincial government needs to fund wildfire mitigation for Interior communities like Logan Lake did for itself the past seven years.
They wisely employed youths during the summer, supervised by a skilled adult, to cut down standing dead trees and low branches on swaths of land on the village’s perimeter. When faced with a fire in June, it worked. It slowed the fire’s advance so that the fire was held in size and put out. Additionally, the program employed local youth close to home and honed practical skills.
It’s not perfect because of the unpredictability of wildfires, but certainly a good use of tax dollars and a lot of value for the money spent. $100 million in aid now is a drop in the bucket. Janet Klopp, Coquitlam
How to save bus service
To save service on northern B.C. routes, Greyhound buses should carry first-class mail. The buses run 24/7, all year. Post Office general mail, parcels and freight can still be moved by contracted trucking companies. The buses would not have to be subsidized.
Millions of Canadians cannot afford to fly, yet they must travel. Using buses makes the most sense. Ernie Slump, Penticton
Get your meningitis shots
This summer, while visiting my hometown in England, I learned of the sudden passing of a popular family doctor from bacterial meningitis and septicemia. He was just 55.
Bacterial meningitis is a very serious illness and can be fatal if not identified and treated quickly, since any delay increases the risk of permanent neurological damage, or worse. Teenagers are among those most at risk and occurrence rates are high among college students living in dormitories. It is difficult to overstate how the trajectory of the lives of young people who caught the illness changed because of neurological deficits.
With legions of kids heading off to university, I encourage them and their loved ones to ensure that their meningitis shots are up to date. Mark Busby, Nanaimo