PAGE 26, WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2,1989 CONSUMERS' ASSOCIATION Threshold no-fault is not the answer By The Consumers' Association of Canada The Ontario Automobile Insurance Board has just released its report on no-fault auto insurance and, regrettably, advocates a so-called "threshold no-fault" system. The threshold system would retain the right to sue for bodily irjuries described in a list of irjury definitions set out in new legislation, but only when the other party is deemed to be at fault. As a means of compensating people injured in automobile accidents, the tort system, wherein an irjured party sues for compensation, is fundamentally flawed. It does not recognize that many accidents are the rmilt of simple, everyday human mistakes. By failing to recognize this, it grossly undercompensates many injured people. The tort system can also fail to compensate innocent irjured people who, for -watever reason, are unable to demonstrate that someone else was at fault. The compensation provided to injured people is not based on the degree of fault of the negligent driver, nor is it always based on the irjured person's needs. Instead, it depends upon the amount of coverage carred by the at-fault driver, the skill of the lawyer retained by the injured party, the insurance company's willingness to negotiate, and many other factors. It is simply not a fair system. CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF WHITB IN THE MATTER OF THE ONTARIO HERITAGE ACT, R.S.O. 1980, c. 337 AND THE MATTER OF LANDS AND PREMISES AT THE FOLLOWING MUNICIPAL ADDRESS IN THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO NOTICE 0F INTENT TO DESIGNATE TAKE NOTICE THAT THE Council of the Corporation of the Town of Whitby intends to designate the property, including lands and buildings, at the following municipal address as property of historic or architectural value or interest under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1980, c. 337. The Donald Wilson House 519 Dundas Street East WHITBY, Ontario REASONS FOR DESIGNATION OF 519 DUNDAS STREET EAST, WHITBY HISTORICAL The Donald Wilson House was built in 1928 by Donald A. Wilson, a wealthy gentleman who took an active part in community life in Whitby. He was a member of the Whitby Board of Education for more than 25 years and Mr. Wilson was a charter member of the Whitby Rotary Club when it was formed. He was also a founding member of the Chamber of Commerce in 1928. Mr. Wilson was named as the first recipient of the Peter Perry Award as Whitby's outstanding citizen in 1955. ARCHITECTURAL The Donald Wilson House combines aspects of romantic and picturesque English revival styles with the utilitarian American Craftsman style. The Tudor Revival contributed to the picturesque arrangement of massing and many of the details: the leaded glazing, the numerous gables, and bay windows, the interior nooks, the interior ceiling beams and in part the panelling. The craftsman interior featured lavish use of natural wood in wainscotting, beamed ceilings, window seats and buit-in furnishings. Any person may, before August 25, 1989, send by registered mail or deliver to the Clerk of the Town of Whitby, notice of his or her objection to the proposed designation together with a statement of reasons for the objection and all relevant facts. If such notice of objection is received, the Council of the Corporation of the Town of Whitby shall refer the matter to the Conservation Review Board for a hearing. DATED at the Town of Whitby this 9th day of August, 1989. Donald G. McKay Town Clerk The Corporation of the Town of Whitby 575 Rossland Road East WHITBY, Ontario L1N 2M8 PHONE: (416) 668-5803 On the evidence presented to the OAIB hearings, the threshold options offer no measurable savings. They add an element of uncertainty and '. provide an additional subject for litigation--indeed, the threshold options retain many of thp worst aspects of the present tort system. To retain the right to sue requires that one party is at fault. Yet, in testimony to the OAIB, insurance commissioner Merin of New Jersey put the blame for auto accidents into perspective when he said: "In the vast mgjority of cases they're not intentional torts, they're not intentional wrongdoings; that if indeed thése are accidents they are momentary lapses of concentration. Someone hits someone else. . . . In most cases it's impossible to reconstruct exactly what happened. In most cases no one really is at fault." To suggest that the risk of being sued acts as a deterrent to careless driving, as proponents of the tort system do, is ludicrous. It is CAC's view that the only sensible reform that should be .considered is a pure no-fault system. A pure no-fault system elimnates. the uncertainty inherent in the tort system or a threshold system. It protects everyone who is irjured; you don't have to prove someone else was at fault in order tor eceive compensation. A pure no-fault system can also provide prompt, richer benefits. CAC further believes that such a no-fault system cannot be run by the private insurance industry. CAC, therefore, is in favor of a (Quebec type) government-operated pure no-fault system of compensation for people injured in automobile accidents. Such a system offers many advantages: - it will be more efficient; (there are over 135 insurers in Ontario) - it will provide higher payments of no-fault benefits faster; - it will allow for the uniform treatment of all claimants; - it will be possible to integrate automobile no-fault benefits with other , government benefits schemes; - it will guarantee access to optional additional benefits to individual needs through private insurers; - it will be more accountable to the public; - it will penalize at-fault drivers with much higher renewal premiums; - it will penalize negligent and drunk drivers, under the criminal justice system. Seat belts save lives say OPP Warm summer weather and the holiday season result in a dramatic increase in traffic volume every year. Unfortunately, the increased volume also leads to an increase in fatal motor vehicle accidents. Last summer, 363 people died in motor vehicle accidents ein areas of the province patrolled by the Ontario Provincial Police. The major contributing factors in those accidents were excessive speed, alcohol and failure to wear seatbelts. Approximately 25 per cent of the motorists killed were ejected from their vehicles. "Without a doubt, seat belts save lives.' It is our duty to protect the driving public by ensuring proper use of seat belts and child restraints," said Insp. Bill Wicklund, OPP traffic and marine section. The Civic Day weekend - Aug. 5, 6, 7 - OPP RIDE teams will be out in full force. The summer RIDE program, a cooperative effort. involving police forces throughout the province, has already proven effective. This past Victoria Day weekend, OPP RIDE units charged 147 people with alcohol-related driving offences. In addition, 269 received 12-hour suspensinns. "People tend to consume more alcohol and drive longer distances in the summer. The cooperation of police forces in the summer RIDE program is intended to send a clear message to the public: Drinking and driving will not be tolerated," said Wicklund. The OPP will be enforcing speeding, drinldng/driving and seat belt laws his holiday weekend. "The OPP urges motorists te buckle up and drive safely," said Wicklund. ç~4ç~ L~t-, y CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF WHITBY IN THE MATTER OF THE ONTARIO HERITAGE ACT, R.S.O. 1980, c. 337 AND THE MATTER OF LANDS AND PREMISES AT THE FOLLOWING MUNICIPAL ADDRESS IN .THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO NOTICE OF INTENT TO DESIGNATE TAKE NOTICE THAT THE Council of the Corporation of the Town of Whitby intends to designate the property, including lands and buildings, at the following municipal address as property of historic or architectural value or interest under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1980, c. 337. The Fothergill House 1011 Dundas Street West WHITBY, Ontario REASONS FOR DESIGNATION OF 101IDUDAS SREET WEST, WHITBY HISTORICAL This house was built in 1883 by John Joshua Fothergill, a farmer and son of Charles Fothergill, a noted political figure and a naturalist in early Upper Canada. ARCHITECTURAL The Fothergill House is a fine example of rural Queen Anne architecture, asymmetrical in plan and elevation. Prominent features of the house are a modest turret on the east front corner and a wide projecting bay on the west side at the front of the house. Two external chimneys, on the east and west sides, are decoratively treated with corbelling, diagonal patterns on the brick. Any person may, before August 25, 1989, send by registered mail or deliver to the Clerk of the Town of Whitby, notice of his or her objection to the proposed designation together with a statement of reasons for the objection and ail relevant factors. If such notice of objection is received, the Council of the Corporation of the Town of Whitby shall refer the matter to the Conservation Review Board for a hearing. DATED at the Town of Whitby this 2nd day of August, 1989. Donald G. McKay Town Clerk The Corporation of the Town of Whitby 575 Rossland Road East WHITBY, Ontario L1N 2M8 PHONE: (416) 668-5803 -1 E 3y