The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Wednesday, May 3, 1989 TERRACE BAY/SCHREIBER NEWS oo - Page 5 Province cancels changes CCC This is the fourth in a series of articles on Ontario's car insurance system. As Ontario motorists ponder the recent confusion surround- ing their car insurance system, the provincial government is pushing ahead with studies of no-fault coverage -- a funda- mental reform it hopes will put a lid on the rapidly rising costs of accident claims. In a surprise move last week the government said planned major changes in the car insur- ance rating system, scheduled to take effect by June 1, have been put on hold. The an- nouncement cancelled the planned elimination of age, sex and marital status as rating cri- teria. The changes had been ex- pected to result in lower insur- ance prices for many young male drivers but higher rates for most others, At the same time the govern- ment ruled that car insurance companies cannot increase drivers' premiums by more than 7.6 per cent. Financial Institutions Minis- ter Murray Elston said changes in the rating system will be held up pending a decision on no- fault. : The Ontario Automobile In- surance Board (OAIB) opened public hearings April 17 on two forms of no-fault insurance. The Board, a government agency, regulates the car insurance sys- tem run by the private insurance industry. Under the present system, people hurt in car accidents can receive accident benefits to a maximum of only $140 a week. To receive additional compen- sation, they must sue and prove another driver was at fault. More victims suing More and more Ontario acci- dent victims have been launch- ing lawsuits to settle claims, and average court awards have been rising. The cost of bodily injury settlements has nearly tripled over the last eight years to about $1 billion annually. : Insurance industry officials say two things are needed to bring these skyrocketing costs under control. One is the intro- duction of some form of no- fault insurance to compensate those injured in car accidents. The other is reform of the civil justice system as it relates to car insurance settlements. Under no-fault insurance, car accident victims receive bene- fits almost automatically -- at higher levels than the present system provides -- regardless of whether they caused the ac- cident. In exchange for higher and quicker compensation, their right to sue for additional com- pensation is restricted or elimi- nated. The OAIB is exploring the costs and advantages of three systems -- two forms of so- called 'threshold no-fault", plus a "choice" system that would give motorists the option of purchasing either no-fault coverage or the traditional fault- based insurance now in effect. Under threshold no-fault, in- jured persons are paid set amounts by their own insurance to cover economic losses, in- cluding lost wages. Funds are also available to pay medical, rehabilitation and funeral costs. Lawsuits limited Victims can sue to recover additional economic costs not covered by their no-fault bene- fits. But they can't sue for non- economic damages such as pain and suffering unless the serious- ness of their injuries meets a certain level or "threshold". The OAIB study is consider- ing two threshold definitions in- cluding one used in the New York State. Generally, threshold no-fault restricts pain and suf- fering lawsuits to cases involv- ing severe injuries causing death, dismemberment, signifi- cant loss of body function or disfigurement. Under the "choice" system being studied, motorists would be required to choose between no-fault and fault-based_per- sonal injury coverage at the time they buy their insurance. a PITCH-IN '89 y May 1-7 Choice no-fault differs from threshold no-fault. While ucci- dent victims would receive the same high level of benefits to compensate for economic losses, they would give up all rights to sue. Those. choosing fault-based coverage would retain the right to sue to recover both economic and non-economic losses if an- other motorist is found to be at fault. The amounts of compen- sation beyond the standard $140-a-week accident benefits would be decided by the legal system. They would not be compensated if they themselves were at fault. Can switch coverage Under the choice system, motorists would be able to switch from one type of cover- age to the other. But once an accident: happens, those in- volved are bound by the type of insurance covering them at the time. Policyholders could in- crease their defined no-fault benefits by paying higher pre- miums. The insurance industry says either form of no-fault could be offered to consumers at lower prices than fault-based insur- ance because a no-fault system would streamline the settlement process, cutting down on legal costs. "The present system clearly encourages injured parties to re- sort to lawsuits and to try to get as much compensation as they can," says Jack Lyndon, presi- dent of the Insurance Bureau of Canada. "The increasing size of court settlements, the cost of hiring lawyers and pursuing lit- igation, and the sheer mass of red tape has a tremendous im- pact on the cost of car insur- ance." S planning to pursue legal considerations Continued from page 4 concentrate being transferred - i.e. 100 tons per day. By our cal- culations, with each rail car hold- ing about 80 tons and five rail cars used daily, there are, in fact, about 400 tons per day being moved. The additional figure stat- ed as 12 trips per day by truck is also misleading, in our opinion. Again our observations indicate closer to thirty truck movements per day, over twice what was originally stated. This is now fur- ther compounded with the addi- tional trucks involved in the spring clean-up blitz for snow removal - a condition which should have been dealt with throughout the winter. Furthermore, we are con- cemed with wind blown contami- nants landing in the surrounding residential area may leach into ground soil and water. Reference was made to our intention to seek legal counsel in having this site removed from a populated area. Let us point out that our committee also wishes to solve the problem in harmony with CP Rail rather than con- fronting them in court. However, with the information available to us, we see no other alternative but to pursue any legal options we may have in this situation. Rose Renaud Chairperson Concerned Citizens Committee of Schreiber Udi / z iA TRAVEL #5 Call your only in town Travel Consultant i eer 3 etal 4 «* Joe Mykietyn (Agent) 824-3418 ANNUAL MEETING Disability Action Group McCausland Hospital May 18th 7 :00 p.m NURSES WEEK In honour of Nurses Week May 7 - 13 A Blood Pressure Clinic will be held May 10, 1 -4 p.m. at the Chimo Club in Schreiber May 11, 1 - 4 p.m. Conference Rm. Terrace Bay Rec Centre EVERYONE WELCOME The Corporation of the Township of Terrace Bay Ay a ey 4] Ss Li French Lamguage Services Act French Language Services Act. Monday, May 8, 1989. The Thunder Bay District Health Council is establishing a French Language Health Services Committee to advise the District Health Council on the planning and organization of health services in French in communi- ties in the District where French language services are required by the Terrace Bay is allocated one representative on this committee. Meetings would be held in Thunder Bay, approximately once per month on a week- day. Expenses would be paid by the District Health Council. Any adult resident of Terrace Bay is eligible to be nominated to this com- mittee. Interested parties should apply in writing to the undersigned by David C. Fulton Clerk-Treasurer Administrator Township of Terrace Bay P.O. Box 40 Terrace Bay, Ontario POT 2W0 Terrace Bay/Schreiber Lion's Club Second Annual "AUCTION" FLEA MARKET/YARD SALE Terrace Bay Arena - Saturday, May 13, 1989 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Admission: $1.00 per adult, children uner 18; free. Auction sarts at 2:00 p.m. Auction items may be previewed Friday May 12, 1989 from 8:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Admission entitles you to a chance at the door prize plus an auction card. Now's your chance to do your spring clean-up. No items too small or too big. You could have it put in our auction for a fee, donate it to us or sell it yourself at your own table. Table rentai: $10.00. For further information contact (after 6:00 p.m.): Bob Hopper - 825-3712 Tom Dickson - 825-9739 Colin Crown - 825-9678 DOOR PRIZE - 5" TELEVISION All Lion's Club proceeds will be donated to "Life Line". YOUR SUPPORT OF YOUR LOCAL LION'S CLUB IS GREATLY APPRECIATED