Tony.
Each Province at one time had its own ‘Department of Highways’. They not only designed, built and maintained the highways/roads within each Province, but they were also at the core of creating and enforcing regulations regarding what equipment was deemed safe/necessary on the various motor vehicles under its jurisdiction, what actions were deemed appropriate for the safe operation of various vehicles (Rules of the Road, enforced by various police agencies) and Driver Training/Testing. Most all of this would fall under a Provincial Highway Traffic Act.
Outside of that sphere of influence, you found the insurance companies that insured the motor vehicles that the Department of Highways deemed appropriate to be on the road.
Here in Manitoba, all that started to slowly change in the early 1970’s. Prior to that, private insurance companies were the only means of obtaining vehicle insurance. Premiums varied greatly and if you were prone to accidents, your premiums could go up rapidly. In addition, claims for accidents could take a while to settle sometimes because the insurance companies for both parties would have to study the accident to determine who was at fault, based on the rules of the road established by the Department of Highways. Whoever was at fault had to cover all repairs and their premiums would go up accordingly.
In the early 1970’s, a newly elected government in Manitoba decided to ban all private auto insurance and replace it with a brand new government owned public insurance company called MPIC (Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation). This new company was mandated to offer rock bottom premiums and to introduce ‘No Fault Insurance’. This latter move was a disaster that is still with us. It did not take long for people to realize there were no longer any real consequences for being an idiot on the road and getting into an accident. You could get your car fixed right away and get right back out there.
In the last 10 years or so, the provincial government, in an effort to save money, have now transferred Driver Training and Licencing to MPIC and MPIC is slowly pushing for more and more say in the regulations of what equipment should be in/on vehicles in the Province in order for them to be insured. It has become a very dangerous monopoly. What is happening in Quebec right now could very easily pop up here at any time.
David
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