MPI benefits should be null and void for car thieves

One of the first orders of business for Progressive Conservatives when the spring session of the Manitoba legislature begins next week will be to put an end to auto thieves profiting from their crimes.

Under the current NDP government, the driver of a stolen SUV that slammed into and killed a driver of a Winnipeg taxicab on Saturday is eligible for MPI benefits, including medical benefits and income replacement. Progressive Conservative Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) critic Cliff Graydon and justice critic Gerald Hawranik say it’s absurd that law-abiding Manitobans are forced to pay for the dangerous actions of criminals.

“The NDP targets the victims rather than the criminals by forcing car owners to install immobilizers, then allows car thieves to access MPI benefits should they hurt themselves during the commission of their crime,” Graydon points out.

“It’s insulting to victims and MPI ratepayers. This is nothing more than NDP government sanctioned proceeds of crime,” Graydon said.  “The driver of a stolen car should not profit from his crime, while the person he stole it from and the family of the man he killed, foot the bill for MPI premiums to cover a criminal’s personal costs.”

Hawranik agrees and said the moment anyone steals a car they waive their right to the same MPI benefits as a law-abiding citizen. He will introduce a bill this spring to amend this backwards policy to ensure that is the case.

Because many car thieves have no qualms with risking their own lives and those of citizens and law enforcement, Hawranik said it requires a far more aggressive response from government than what the NDP has employed.

“After a jogger was targeted and ploughed down on Wellington Crescent last spring and again in the 2007 election campaign, we reiterated our pledge to implement an aggressive strategy to crack down on auto theft,” Hawranik said. “Other jurisdictions have implemented bait car programs and used electronic ankle bracelets with much success – both commitments previously made by Manitoba Progressive Conservatives. The NDP has only paid lip service to our ideas, while in the meantime, continues to write cheques to the criminals.

“The NDP has made Winnipeg the reigning auto theft capital of Canada and therefore has a duty to explore new strategies to tackle their problem – even if they have to steal those ideas from the opposition to do so.”