Government provides some services because apparently, those services are "too important" to be left to the whims and possible misdeeds of the private sector. Who else but the government has the best interest of the public in mind, right Well, recent events at B.C.'s peoples' car insurance company, ICBC, show once again that citizens' trust in government corporations may be sorely misplaced.

The sale of rebuilt vehicles from an ICBC training centre is another example of the breach of trust people in B.C. have been subject to from their crown corporations. If the government cannot protect the public from the misdeeds of its own corporations - and those misdeeds would have been less likely to occur in the private sector - then it is time to question whether the government should be providing those services.

The ICBC training facility in question was set up in 1988 to conduct repair research to reduce costs and "inform industry training" - whatever that means. The facility rebuilt between 30-40 salvage vehicles (those considered by ICBC to be cheaper to write off than to repair) per year, and then sold them. The training facility is the only part of ICBC that sells rebuilt vehicles. Between 1998 and February 2008, the training facility sold 98 vehicles to ICBC employees and unsuspecting buyers without revealing the vehicles' repair history. As a result of this funny business at the training facility, ICBC no longer sells rebuilt vehicles. Questionable sales from the facility, however, went on for 10 years.

Checks and balances are in place to protect the public when rebuilt vehicles are sold by motor dealers in the private sector. The Motor Vehicle Sales Authority (MVSA) enforces the Motor Dealer's Act and components of the Business Practices and Consumers Protection Act, as they relate to vehicle sales. The MVSA licenses and regulates more than 1,700 motor dealers and over 8,000 salespeople in B.C. The MVSA is financed by license fees from motor dealers, not the taxpayer. Yet, surprise surprise, ICBC is exempt.

The MVSA says there is no way a private dealer would have been able to hide the history of rebuilt vehicles it sold for 10 years. A dealer buys a salvage vehicle from ICBC, then rebuilds the vehicle and sells it, but it must disclose any accident that vehicle had with damage over $2,000. The MVSA inspects private dealers at least once every two years or more if it detects problems or a consumer complains about a dealer. If a private dealer sold rebuilt vehicles without disclosing its history, its license to operate could be suspended, or even cancelled. Getting shut down acts as a big disincentive to ripping off consumers.

Will ICBC be shut down as a result of its misdeeds Not likely. After all, the BC Lottery Corporation (BCLC) didn't after the Ombudsman reported problems with almost every aspect of BCLC's prize payout procedure. There too, consumers were being ripped off and management had no idea, or didn't care, about what was going on. Oversight of that crown corporation was also virtually non-existent. The government agency in charge of investigating the BCLC had not audited the BCLC's retailer network or complaint handling process prior to October 2006. The Ombudsman's report also found inadequacies in the investigations into the integrity of the BCLC's retail network. At least one head rolled at the BCLC, but that cost taxpayers more than $400,000 in severance. The buyback of ICBC's rebuilt vehicles has cost taxpayers $2 million so far. Consumers get ripped off and taxpayers have to compensate them - this is madness!

These are but two examples of how both consumers and taxpayers are poorly protected when the government gets involved in the supply of services. It is extremely unlikely a regulatory body would shirk its responsibilities when regulating private businesses as it has with public organizations. Competition and the fear of losing the ability to continue on in business are two of the most important deterrents to misdeeds in the private sector - which is exactly where lotteries and auto insurance should be.