Alberta: Public Auto Insurance Becomes a key election issue.

Since NAFTA no province has brought in a public auto insurance scheme. NAFTA rules would probably be invoked by private industry as happened in New Brunswick. The NDP when it was in power in Ontario considered public auto insurance but backed away from it for ostensibly the same reason. Of course it could be that it was because Bob Rae was the leader at the time!
This is from the Globe and Mail.

The New Brunswick government turned down the recommendation of a select committee for a public insurance scheme after it had been warned that it could be sued for expropriation under NAFTA by private insurance.



February 12, 2008
Auto insurance becomes a top election issue
$4,000 cap on soft tissue claims struck down
By The Canadian Press
A major court ruling is making public versus private auto insurance one of the top issues in the campaign for the March 3 Alberta election.
Premier Ed Stelmach is saying the ruling last week that struck down a $4,000 cap the province imposed on soft tissue claims creates “tremendous pressure” to increase auto rates.
Today, NDP Leader Brian Mason laid out proposals for public auto insurance that he says would save drivers as much as $400 a year.
Mason says the court ruling couldn’t have come at a better time because it opens the debate in Alberta — the only province in the West without public insurance.
Liberal Leader Kevin Taft says his party would also support a public insurance system if it proved to be a cheaper alternative.
Alberta’s insurance reforms in 2004 capped the payout for whiplash injuries and created a new way of calculating premiums that reduced rates for most drivers.