There are a lot of changes afoot at ICBC and a lot of articles on the various changes, but it seems to me that no one is taking a serious look at the discriminatory nature of the Minor Injury Regulation.
The regulation blatantly discriminates against the elderly, disabled and female populations, which is clear when you get to the heart of what the regulations say in conjunction with the Insurance (Vehicle) Act.
While I cannot speak for the other populations, as a woman and a mother I was shocked to find out that I still have minimal value in this century. The Minor Injury Regulation places all of the value of pain and suffering one suffers on employment and inability to do that employment, so if you are not employed or not unable to do your employment, your pain and suffering has essentially no value.
While this might not jump out as being discriminatory, as it is the same for everyone, the impact will not be the same for everyone, as men, particularly men in physical occupations, will experience a different outcome in terms of their claim.
There are two reasons for this:
• Women are still more likely to be stay-at-home mothers, so regardless of how much it affects their enjoyment of life or how painful it is to do the housekeeping or take care of children, their injuries will be considered minor unless they fall outside those listed, which will be very rare.
• Women are also more likely to be in sedentary or light-capacity jobs that they can still do despite their injuries.
So at the end of the day, a man and a woman can have the same injuries, but the woman’s pain and suffering are considered minor just by virtue of the fact that she is a stay-at-home mom or works in an office. To put more value on men and male contributions to the workforce is going backward in time, and I am shocked that no one is reporting on the issue.
Someone needs to explain to people what these changes really mean, and all I see is people talking about injured people as a whole, as if they all fit in one category. The pain and suffering of women and elderly and disabled people should not be worth less than the pain and suffering of men. Period.
Marlisa H. Martin is principal at Nanuq Law.
