VICTORIA – Yesterday, BC Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson criticized government’s ridesharing rules designed to ensure safety, proper licensing, and insurance. He argued it should be “determined by the market” instead.

But in the past, Wilkinson has raised the same concerns government’s legislation is designed to address:

“The issue is how you make sure there’s a safe environment in which drivers can operate and passengers in particular can operate. We need to have the right insurance products.” (CKNW, July 18, 2018)

“The issue, as I said, is about the quality of vehicles involved, the safety of the passengers, the safe drivers involved and the insurance product.” (CKNW, July 18, 2018)

“We have to make sure that whoever is carrying passengers in British Columbia is appropriately licensed, appropriately trained and skilled, and appropriately insured.” (BiV, Feb 14, 2018)

In June 2017, Wilkinson voted for the BC Liberal Clone Speech, which said:

“While all parties in this legislature publicly stated their support for ride sharing in the recent election, your government has heard the message that legitimate implementation concerns remain. Any proposed legislation will be referred to an all-party committee for extensive consultation with the public and stakeholders, in particular regarding boundaries and insurance.”

And in 2014, former Transportation Minister Todd Stone said:

“It is not good enough to simply voluntarily stand up and say we believe we provide a safe service. If Uber believes it meets certain safety requirements then they should have no fear of sitting down with the passenger transportation branch and going through the same process that every other taxi and limousine company has to follow.” (November 3, 2014)