When is a contract not worth the paper it's written on When it's a car insurance policy with Saskatchewan Government Insurance. Once again the arrogance of our government has demonstrated the need for more consumer and taxpayer control over our Crowns.

A while ago, SGI decided to raise the vehicle insurance deductible for all its customers from $500 to $700. It did this to all customers on January 1, 1998, regardless of when individual policies were up for renewal. In effect, the government's insurance agency unilaterally amended the policies of tens of thousands of Saskatchewan drivers.

It's like going into the store and buying a $25 dollar toaster, and after you get it home the store sends you a bill for another $10 because it decided the price should be higher after you walked out the door. That's basically what SGI did by changing the deductibility rules on existing policies.

A fellow in Melfort called foul on this particular bait-and-switch when he had an accident and was charged the $700 deductible instead of the $500 listed on his existing registration certificate. The judged ruled that the new deductible "would constitute an interference with the owners' vested rights under existing policies" and that the new deductible should only apply to owners' certificates issued after January 1, 1998.

In other words, an insurance policy is like contract, and the insurer cannot unilaterally change the rules in mid-stream. Well, of course not. So how did SGI's government managers come to the conclusion that it could do such an unfair and unlawful thing

SGI, as a government monopoly, apparently does not think of the people it insures as customers, and it does not think of itself as a company selling a service.Instead, it thinks of policy-holders as taxpayers, and of itself as an arm of the tax department. Therefore, insurance payments are taxes due the government, in exchange for which the government allows you to operate a vehicle.

And as we all know, the government can stick us with new taxes whenever it likes. To apply this attitude to vehicle insurance policies is obviously wrong, and the courts agree.

But SGI is far from repentant. SGI has agreed to re-pay it's ill-gotten booty, about $3.5 million to 15,000 motorists. But according to their press release, this is not done because SGI was wrong, but "in fairness to Saskatchewan motorists." The release goes on to gripe about the ruling and suggests an appeal. SGI seems to think it's doing policy-holders a favour by obeying the court ruling. And we have to ask, where was the "fairness to Saskatchewan motorists" when this money-making plot was originally hatched

So what lessons can we learn from this sorry episode Number one, we should consider putting car insurance into the competitive private sector. At least in a competitive environment, vehicle owners can expect to be treated like customers, rather than cows to be milked.

Number two, our government crowns - SGI, the utilities, and the rest - must be subject to more review and control. In a monopoly, backed up by government muscle, there is no competition to keep crowns honest. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation has been calling for the establishment of an independent body to oversee the Crowns and protect the interests of customers and taxpayers.

Isn't it about time the government of Saskatchewan stopped treating our province like the company store