ICBC and BC Parks Licence Plate Debacle
This is a follow-up to a blog I wrote yesterday. That post looked at the missing $200,000 from the BC Parks licence plate program, the product placement for Coleman at an official government press event, and the inclusion of previously built campsites in an announcement of new sites.
New information has been revealed that confirms the original concern with respect to the BC Parks licence plate program.
In January of this year, the BC Government and ICBC launched a program that would allow BC residents to pay $50 for a special BC Parks license plate with a $40 renewal fee for every year after.
The program was promoted as a way for individuals to show support for BC Parks by making a donation to the BC Parks system. Customers were told in no uncertain terms that a full $33 from each initial license plate purchase would go to the BC Parks Park Enhancement Fund.
The headline on the news stories read:
“$33 for every new parks licence plate will go to provincial parks”
And to be 100% certain, I reached out to the government at that time and confirmed that the full $33 would go into the Park Enhancement Fund. I’ve removed the government employee’s name from this e-mail but can forward the full e-mail to journalists.
In a recent announcement from the government, they announced that 11,000 plates had been purchased resulting in $165,000 for the Park Enhancement Fund. That math doesn’t line up (that is $15/plate instead of $33/plate) which is what I posted about yesterday.
Drex from CKNW tweeted ICBC about the discrepancy this morning and they confirmed that only $15 from each plate was being directed to the Parks Enhancement Fund.
So what does this all mean?
11,000 BC residents have spent $550,000 thinking that they were supporting BC Parks with a collective donation of $363,000 but only $165,000 actually made it to the BC Parks system. If you care about BC Parks, there are far more effective ways to donate your money than on this license plate program.
The government has to make this right. Either refund the money to BC residents or make sure that the original promise is fulfilled.
Happy Hiking,
Steve
stevejoneshikes@gmail.com
