Today in the provincial legislature at Queen’s Park, David Orazietti, MPP voted against the NDP’s flawed auto insurance bill and helped to defeat it in order to prevent auto insurance rates from increasing as much as 30 percent in Sault Ste. Marie. Nevertheless, members of the provincial NDP who represent ridings in Northern Ontario, such as Mike Mantha, voted in favour of the Bill despite the fact that it would have raised rates on their own constituents as well as the fact that the legislation would have created serious safety rating issues.
“I strongly believe in making life more affordable for northerners, which is why I have opposed this misguided piece of legislation from the beginning and why I voted against it today in the provincial legislature,” said Orazietti. “It’s unfortunate that despite the overwhelming evidence clearly demonstrating the negative impacts of Bill 45 on Northern Drivers, that the NDP continued to misrepresent its effects.”
In an effort to reduce rates for Toronto drivers, Bill 45 would have removed geographical location as a factor in determining auto insurance rates, which would have resulted in rate increases in other parts of Ontario – particularly in the North but also in rural areas. In addition to increasing auto insurance rates in Northern Ontario, Bill 45 had a number of other very serious consequences. For example, the legislation limited the definition of ‘driving safety record’ to actual accidents, which would have meant that if a driver were charged with impaired driving or street racing but did not get into an accident, their premium would not have been affected. Further, Bill 45 did not take into account the make, model and year of the car, which would have meant that drivers with less expensive vehicles would have subsidized the premiums of those with luxury vehicles and sports cars.
