Former transportation minister Todd Stone said in an interview he doesn’t remember the 2014 report, despite the fact ICBC reported to his ministry and the report was commissioned by his ministry and the Ministry of Finance.
Former finance minister Mike de Jong said the report was altered to remove recommendations to cap minor injury claims because the government of the day wasn’t interested in such a policy change. And ICBC’s former board chair, who resigned just before the report was commissioned, has emerged to blast Stone for what he characterized as mismanagement of the Crown corporation.
The recommendations were not only ignored by the government, which commissioned the report, but a final version released publicly on March 16, 2015, was scrubbed to remove all seven pages and relevant recommendations.
The suggestions included caps on soft tissue injury claims in minor accidents, higher insurance for drivers with histories of infractions like distracted driving, and changes to how government sets ICBC’s capital reserve levels. Collectively, the reforms could have saved hundreds of millions annually, according to the report.