ICBC rates to increase by 6.4 per cent

> Earlier reports suggested rates could climb by up to 30 per cent

Jake Wray
News Editor

 

he NDP government has announced

that basic insurance rates will
increase by 6.4 per cent this year,
following a widely-circulated report
that recommended a 20 per cent
increase in ICBC rates in 2016.

The report, compiled by accounting
firm Ernst & Young and released by the BC
government, said a 30 per cent increase
by 2019 would be necessary if ICBC
was to continue covering all of its costs
using revenue generated from insurance
premiums. Some Douglas College
students expressed concern at the findings
of the report, citing the financial pressures
of being a student. Now, Attorney General

David Eby has announced that the

government will minimize rate increases

and begin several initiatives to “Fix the

public insurer's financial crisis,’ according

to a BC government press release.
“Drastic action is needed to fix

ICBC’s devastating financial crisis,

but BC drivers should not be forced

to pay 20 per cent basic rate hikes

today because of mismanagement

that goes back years,” Eby said in the

press release. “Our commitment to

British Columbians is to make life more

affordable for them. Forcing 20 per cent

rate increases on drivers is a non-starter’
The planned 6.4 per cent increase

this year is roughly in line with increases

in recent years. Rates increased by

4.9 per cent in 2016 and 5.5 per cent

in 2015, according to a statement on

>

the ICBC website, which also says

that ICBC has been facing drastically
higher costs due to a number of factors
including a sharp rise in accident claims
and increased vehicle repair costs.

The BC government will audit
ICBC’s operations, introduce a pilot
project for “Distracted driving reduction
technology,” implement a distracted
driving advertising campaign, and
undertake a number of other initiatives
attempting to reduce costs at ICBC,
according to the press release.

Eby blamed the situation
at ICBC on the previous Liberal
government, who Eby accused of
mismanaging the insurance agency.

“It’s unacceptable for government
to treat ICBC like an ATM machine,
and it cost BC drivers more than $1

Emergency lockdown drills
scheduled for September

> Douglas College officials to hone procedure in case of violent intruder

Jake Wray
News Editor

 

nemergency lockdown drill

will take place at both Douglas
College campuses this month.

No specific dates have been
announced for the annual drills, which
give personnel and students a chance to
practice what to do in case of violence on
campus. Douglas College instituted an
emergency lockdown plan five years ago.

Nancy Constable, director of safety,
security, and risk management for
Douglas College, said an instance of
violence at Douglas College is “unlikely,”
and her team constantly monitors
potential threats and other factors.

“Violence on our campuses is very,
very minimal, and violence involving
weapons is extremely minimal, as it is
across BC [post-secondary institutions, |
she said in an interview with the

”

Other Press. “We know our context,
were paying attention to behaviors
on campus, we're paying attention
to messages that people provide us,
we pay attention to concerns as they
come forward and we intervene ... Our
security teams are ever-vigilant, and
because we have mechanisms in place
to communicate, receive information
and act on it, we're confident to say that
an act of such violence is unlikely.”
The lockdown procedure at
Douglas College is solid, according
to Constable, but each time officials
practice the procedure they find
something small that can be improved.
“The reason we do lockdown
procedures is that opportunity to
evaluate and smooth the procedure.
I would say the procedure itself has
withstood the test of time. Every
year we've done it, the procedure
remains sound,” Constable said. “Tt’s
more the other outcomes [that can

sometimes be improved,] like ‘Oh,
there’s some windows there that we
didn’t put blinds on. We need blinds,
or ‘Oh, we found there’s a couple of
rooms without locks on them. We
need to install locks. It’s been more
around updating infrastructure
needs around lockdown capacity.”

Constable said if there are
students who are concerned
about another student potentially
committing violence, they can come
talk to someone on her team.

“We take it very seriously, and what
we would do is we would listen to the
person who has the concern, and let
them know that we're going to follow
up with the individual of concern. We
would keep confidential the student
reporting, for their own safety,’ she said.
“Then we would reach out to the student
who is potentially concerning in their
behaviours and find out their version of
events, what’s happening for them, and

Confronting the fentanyl crisis

> Harm reduction initiatives from this summer's festival season

Jillian McMullen
Staff Writer

 

N= data released by the BC
government shows that the number
of overdose deaths in BC in July was
30 per cent higher than the number
of overdose deaths in July 2016.

That data, and other indicators,
suggests that the overdose crisis in
BC is becoming more severe. Charges
were recently laid against an alleged
drug dealer after the overdose death
of a 16-year-old New Westminster this
spring. The girl took “a lethal dose
of MDMA’ and went into distress,

according to a report by CBC News.

The ongoing and increasingly
intensifying fentanyl crisis in the Lower
Mainland has generated a lot of public
anxiety with regards to this popular
practice among young adults and the
possible threat it poses to them.

In light of the growing crisis, the
Other Press reached out to Alex Betsos,
co-founder and volunteer coordinator
at Karmik, a Vancouver-based harm
reduction initiative aimed at facilitating
safer partying in the nightlife and festival
community. Betsos said Karmik supplies
harm reduction tools including drug
testing, clean syringes, safe injection

sites, women’s safe spaces, free condoms,
and sanctuary spaces at festivals.

This year, Karmik attended
numerous festivals both locally and
internationally, including Centre
of Gravity, Hi Society, Vancouver
Pride and Bamboo Bass Festival.

“Center of Gravity was an interesting
test of how integrating medical and
harm reduction approaches can create
a dynamic festival health space,” Betsos
said. “I think the inclusion of these
major events, especially Pride and Center
of Gravity show how harm reduction
mentality is beginning to be adopted by
the general public. The Vancouver Pride

billion,” he said in the press release.
“Our government is working overtime to
clean up the mess we inherited in a way
that minimizes impacts on drivers.”
But some BC Liberals stand by
their handling of ICBC. Todd Stone,
a Liberal MLA who was the minister
of transportation and infrastructure
in the previous government, said his
government kept ICBC rate increases low.
“We were successful over a previous
10-year period at keeping the combined
rate of increase down to less than 17 per
cent for BC motorists,” Stone said in an
interview with Kamloops radio station
CFJC Today. “That’s basically in line with
inflation. We have seen in one month
with the NDP in power that the combined
rate increase is going to be 8 per cent.”

then take it from there. Like is this an
opportunity for us to let you know about
college supports? Is this an opportunity
for us to intervene in some way and
connect you to community supports? Is
it a person who needs accommodation
at school? What is the issue, and what
are the best ways for us to help?”

Last year there was one instance
where the lockdown procedure was
instituted and it was not a practice
drill, according to Constable.

“On May 4, 2016, we had a report
of a person in the area of the campus
with a gun, and we invoked the
lockdown procedure,” she said, adding
that police determined it to bea false
alarm. “Police investigated and it was
believed to be a person who had an
object that was mistakenly reported
to police as a gun, and of course we
have to take the maximum approach
to that until we can confirm it is safe.”

Society team were very excited to work

with us, and we were happy to be involved.

I think our goal next year is to spread

our services further into these events.”
Betsos admits that while some

festivals accept the consumption of drugs

at their events as an undeniable reality,

others are more reluctant to provide even

basic drug information to attendees.

This may be due to mainstream

attitudes surrounding drug consumption

and the current abstinence-only

education offered by some governments.

However, the addition of harm reduction

advocacy in British Columbia has

greatly helped local initiatives.