REGINA: The cost of last year's review of the provincial government's "no-fault" auto insurance scheme has topped $1 million according to documents obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) through two Freedom of Information queries.

"The costs of the government's no-fault review have exceed the original budgets by 20%, and the bills may still be rolling in," says Richard Truscott, Saskatchewan Director of the CTF.

"Taxpayers don't accept 'no-fault' budgeting. They deserve an explanation from the government as to why this review cost more than predicted," he adds.

The CTF has released documents from the Crown Investments Corporation (CIC) that reveal the total spending by the PIPP Review Committee was $837,808 as of December 31, 2000 - 20% more than the original budget of $700,000.

A second Freedom of Information query to Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) show the cost to the Crown Corporation to participate in the PIPP Review process was $227,351 bringing the total cost to $1,065,159.

The province's "no-fault" auto insurance plan was introduced in 1995 through changes to the Automobile Accident Insurance Act. Under the Personal Injury Protection Plan (PIPP) accident victims are denied the right to sue for pain and suffering and the government's insurer SGI pays for a prescribed level of rehabilitation, medical, and income replacement benefits for accident victims.

The legislation also contained a provision to review all aspects of the no-fault insurance system within five years. The government funded PIPP Review Committee tabled its report in December and recommended a number of limited changes to the current no-fault system.