VICTORIA — British Columbia’s public auto insurer is giving a one-time rebate to help drivers cope with the cost of rising fuel prices caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Premier John Horgan announced Friday.
Horgan said the provincial government approached the Insurance Corporation of B.C. to provide drivers who have a basic auto insurance policy with a $110 rebate and commercial drivers with $165.
“Today, if we go to fill up at the pumps, sometimes it feels like it’s a bit of a holdup,” he told a news conference. “Prices are at unprecedented levels and those prices at the pump are a direct result of (Russian President) Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.”
Gas prices in B.C.’s Lower Mainland hovered around $1.95 per litre on Friday. Outside Metro Vancouver, where taxes are lower, drivers were paying about 10 cents less per litre.
Horgan said the one-time payment is a better approach than cutting fuel taxes because the price will only increase again at the pumps.
He said the corporation is in a financial position to cover the cost of $395-million rebate. It is forecasting an annual net income of $1.9 billion for the 2021-22 fiscal year ending March 31.
In 2018, David Eby, who was then the minister in charge of the insurance corporation, compared the finances of the public auto insurer to a dumpster fire.
The NDP brought in legislation to prevent governments from dipping into reserves at the corporation “to pad their budgets,” Horgan said Friday.
But the difference with the rebate, he said, is that the money is going back to policy holders, who finance the corporation.
“This is a rebate based on the robust position the corporation is in,” Horgan said.
Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said drivers can expect the rebate to start rolling out in May.
Prof. Werner Antweiler, an economist at the University of British Columbia, said the relief payment will help as the market deals with a shortage of gasoline.
“The idea is we’re not interfering in the market. The market needs to do its magic of closing the gap between supply and demand through higher (gas) prices,” he said in an interview. “The higher prices are necessary.”
Antweiler said the focus needs to be on giving financial relief to commercial drivers because, in theory, if they get help, they won’t pass added costs on to consumers.
Peter Milobar, the B.C. Liberal party’s finance critic, said the government’s approach doesn’t target help at those who need it most as everyone gets the same rebate, including owners of electric vehicles.
“The fact that a single parent working two jobs and driving a Honda Civic is getting the same one-time rebate as a Tesla owner is ridiculous,” he said in a news release.
“Not everyone feels the impacts of these sky-high prices the same.”
— By Nick Wells in Vancouver.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2022.
The Canadian Press
PORT ALBERNI, B.C. – RCMP say the body of a second person has been found inside their vehicle after a road washed away amid pouring rain on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Police say two vehicles went into the Sarita River when Bamfield Road washed out on Saturday as an atmospheric river hammered southern B.C.
The body of the other driver was found Sunday.
More coming.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
The B.C. Greens say Sonia Furstenau will be staying on as party leader, despite losing her seat in the legislature in Saturday’s provincial election.
The party says in a statement that its two newly elected MLAs, Jeremy Valeriote and Rob Botterell, support Furstenau’s leadership as they “navigate the prospect of having the balance of power in the legislature.”
Neither the NDP led by Premier David Eby nor the B.C. Conservatives led by John Rustad secured a majority in the election, with two recounts set to take place from Oct. 26 to 28.
Eby says in a news conference that while the election outcome is uncertain, it’s “very likely” that the NDP would need the support of others to pass legislation.
He says he reached out to Furstenau on election night to congratulate her on the Greens’ showing.
But he says the Green party has told the NDP they are “not ready yet” for a conversation about a minority government deal.
The Conservatives went from taking less than two per cent of the vote in 2020 to being elected or leading in 45 ridings, two short of a majority and only one behind the NDP.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio is making a difference, 4,175 kilometres away from home.
The 32-year-old Canadian international midfielder, whose parents hail from Colombia, has been working with the Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization, a charity whose goal is to help disadvantaged youth in the South American country.
Osorio has worked behind the scenes, with no fanfare.
Until now, with his benevolence resulting in becoming Toronto FC’s nominee for the Audi Goals Drive Progress Impact Award, which honours an MLS player “who showed outstanding dedication to charitable efforts and serving the community” during the 2024 season.”
Other nominees include Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and CF Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
The winner will be announced in late November.
The Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization (CCCO) is run entirely by volunteers like Monica Figueredo and Claudia Soler. Founded in 1991, it received charitable status in 2005.
The charity currently has four projects on the go: two in Medellin and one each in Armenia and Barranquilla.
They include a school, a home for young girls whose parents are addicted to drugs, after-school and weekend programs for children in a disadvantaged neighbourhood, and nutrition and education help for underprivileged youth.
The organization heard about Osorio and was put in contact with him via an intermediary, which led to a lunch meeting. Osorio did his due diligence and soon got back to the charity with his decision.
“It was something that I wanted to be a part of right away,” said Osorio, whose lone regret is that he didn’t get involved sooner.
“I’m fortunate now that to help more now that I could have back then,” he added. “The timing actually worked out for everybody. For the last three years I have donated to their cause and we’ve built a couple of (football) fields in different cities over there in the schools.”
His father visited one of the sites in Armenia close to his hometown.
“He said it was amazing, the kids, how grateful they are to be able to play on any pitch, really,” said Osorio. “But to be playing on a new pitch, they’re just so grateful and so humble.
“It really makes it worth it being part of this organization.”
The collaboration has also made Osorio take stock.
“We’re very fortunate here in Canada, I think, for the most part. Kids get to go to school and have a roof over their head and things like that. In Colombia, it’s not really the same case. My father and his family grew up in tough conditions, so giving back is like giving back to my father.”
Osorio’s help has been a godsend to the charity.
“We were so surprised with how willing he was,” said Soler.
The TFC skipper has helped pay for a football field in Armenia as well as an ambitious sports complex under construction in Barranquilla.
“It’s been great for them,” Figueredo said of the pitch in Armenia. “Because when they go to school, now they have a proper place to train.”
Osorio has also sent videos encouraging the kids to stay active — as well as shipping soccer balls and signed jerseys their way.
“They know more about Jonathan than the other players in Colombia,” Figueredo said. “That’s the funny part. Even though he’s far away, they’ve connected with him.”
“They feel that they have a future, that they can do more,” she added. “Seeing that was really, really great.”
The kids also followed Osorio through the 2022 World Cup and this summer’s Copa America.
Back home, Osorio has also attended the charity’s annual golf tournament, helping raise funds.
A Toronto native, he has long donated four tickets for every TFC home game to the Hospital for Sick Children.
Vancouver’s Berhalter was nominated for his involvement in the Whitecaps’ partnership with B.C. Children’s Hospital while Montreal’s Sirois was chosen for his work with the Montreal Impact Foundation.
—
Follow @NeilMDavidson on X platform, formerly known as Twitter
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
Sentencing hearing continues for University of Waterloo gender studies class stabber
Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio making a difference off the pitch as well as on it
Inequality has broad impacts on the health of Montreal children, report finds
Liberal majority victory shifts political landscape in New Brunswick
Thomson Reuters acquires AI accounting assistant developer Materia
Building Homes Faster with our Latest 3D Construction Printer
Legault ‘shocked’ by Montreal teacher scandal, pledges to toughen secularism measures
Susan Holt Breaks the Glass Ceiling in New Brunswick Politics
