The Ontario Scrapbook Hansard

Ontario Scrapbook Hansard, 7 Mar 1930, p. 5

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\ "These stocks wore bought and sold from a speculative standpoint only," continued Mr. Homuth, reading from A list. "It shows Standard Oil of New | Jersey, bought July 12, sold in August: | bought on Oct. 30, sold Nov. 8; bought | Doec. 13, sold Dec. 13." '__Mr. Sinclair--How much did hs lose? | _ Mr. Homuth--He didn't make any-- | thing. s ad Georgs Shields (Conservative, Toron-- to--Woodbine)--Bought on margin? _ Continuing, Mr. Homuth meontioned Canadian Pacific Railway. bought in August and sold in October. ! _ _"Bought one day, sold the next," said \Mr. Homuth, "nothing but speculation ' on the stock market. I don't know what | the 1929 figures are. If the same sys-- !tem of speculation was made in 1929 ' when the stock crash came, then wh--t is the situation? I am saying it is not the proper way of hapndling insurance company funds. I say it is not the way |to handle such funds, that are more sacred than any other funds. And I say there is somsthing more behind the _ Conlinuing, Mr. Homuth mentioned Steel Company ci Canada, some being held only seventy--two hcurs. _ _ Justice Hodgins Opposes Compulsory _ Insurance, But Suggests "Financia Responsibility" Legisla-- tior, Requiring Bond Afier Serious Offense New System of Reporting Accidents Advocated ---- T w o Amendmenis to Ontario Insurance Act Are Suggested by Inves-- tigator CAREFUL DRIV ERS ARE NOT TOUCHED pulsory insurance for motorists, and equally strong recommendation for the snactment of a so--called "financial or safety rosponsibility law," including some element of compulsory insurance, are contained in the interim report of the Ontario Automobile Insi:rance Rates Inquiry Commission, which was tabled in the Legislature yesterday. "The latter law (safety responsibility) and the State of Massachusetts law (compulsory insurano:) differ funda-- mentally," reports Mr. Jusiice Frank E. Hodgins, the Commissioner, "on this point, that, while the earliest compul-- sory insurance law required all to in-- sure on a certain day, the safety re-- sponsibility laws leave a motorist alone until he has been convicted of a seri-- ous violation of the highway traffic law or criminal law, or has caused serious or substantial injury through motor accident. They then require se-- curity against future casualties, and, as a further condition of the restoration of his license, that he shall pay the damages caused by the accident which Classification of drivers, with corre-- sponding super--charges in the insur-- ance premium, was recommended. | has brought him within the scope of the legislation. More Logical, Is Claim. n §# . "This difference makes the safety responsibility laws more logical, more acceptable, more workable, and less oppressive. and has the great merit of only affecting _motorists who have themselves demonstrated that they are careless or reckless. Thus, the vast majority of carsful drivers are untouch-- ed by the law and can remain outside it as long as they do not bring them-- selves within it." Only two amendmenets are proposed to the Ontario Insurance Act, but these are of major importance. The first would add a new section (275@a) to the Insurance Act, empowering the Super-- intendent of Insurance to order, after due notice and a hearing before him, an adjustment of automobile insurance rates whenever they are found by him to be excossive, inadequate, unfairly discriminatory or otherwise unreason-- able. The second would require insur-- ance companies transacting automobile insurance to prepare and file with the Superintendent of Insurance such rec-- ords of their premiums, loss and ex-- pense cost as may be required. The adoption of these recommendations at the present session of the Legislature is strongly urged! "I want to make it clear throughout my report." says Justice Hodgins, in dealing with compulsory insurance and safety responsibility laws, "that on this continent there is only one question to be considered when it is determined to deal with greater safety and compen-- --tim. for injuries, and that is, whether th: eariier plan (Massachusetts) adop-- ed for requiring compulsory insurance or S:rong recommendation against com-- ;arc\,\ 7fir\. security from all motorists, and irrespet-- tive of their driving record, is better than the later ones (15 States, inclug-- ing New York and Connecticut), which introduce the plan gradually and in such a way as to deal fairly and rea-- sonably both with those who are care-- ful and those who are not, and which are linked up with provisions dealing with care and consideration for others, as well as financial responsibility for injuriecs caused by, breach of the traffic or criminal laws." The report follows an exhaustive in-- vestigation by the Commissioner, covers almost 200 typewritten pageos, lists 66. witnesses who testified at hearings held in Albany and New York City, Spring-- field and Boston, Hartford, Washingtony Baltimore and Toronto, and is accom+ panied by almost 1,000 pages of testi~' mony, and by 59 exhibits. Justice Hod gins spont the summer of 1929 in« England, and an appendix to the repo includes a summary of compulsory in surance laws in Eurcop:an countries an? Australasia, as well as a digest of thti proposed compulc:ry bill in Great Britain. 4 The report indicates that the main' report relating to the reasonablenesg of the existing automobile insurance premium rates in Ontario will not b'_ ready for some months, but, meanwhile the Commissioner recommends the im-- portant amsndments to the Provincial insurance laws aforedescribed. The draft bill to amend the Highway Traffic Act, which is appended to the report, covers 40 pages and embodies the conclusions and recommendations e>-- haustively explained in the report, deal-- ing particularly with three major sub-- jects: (1) Financial responsibility of owners and Grivers; (2) Accident re-- porting and statistics; and (3) Classi-- fication of drivers. In explanation of recommendations, . the Commissioner states that while the majority of witnesses who testified bej( fore him felt that the enactment of a financial responsibility law would not of itself make insurance rate--regulation-- necessary, ~nevertheless, "any report;,, however, involving a recommendation for legislation, the effect of which wou\d\ be to require motorists to buy automo-'. bile insurance. would not be complete'\ without reference to the cost of tnat% insurance and the manner in which its reasonableness is to be assured." Referring to the fact that the Super-- intendent of Insurance in New York State has for many years had the au-- thority and responsibility he now recommends be given to the Ontario Superintendent of Insurance, and ad-- mitting that his inquiry into the exist-- \\ ]ivfi-g.-;{fb;x'fiobile insuranse premium rates in Ontario. He says, in part: "I may explain that at the outset of my in-- On the subject of requiring the in-- surance companies to keep proper sta-- tistical records, the Commissioner in-- dicates some of his difficulties in de-- termining the reasonableness of exist--

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