Campaign

The 1978 Automobile Insurance Act was created in the interests of public safety. In reality it protects the city... not its citizens.

The Jessica Campaign has been created in loving memory of Jessica Holman-Price to campaign the government to abolish the Automobile Insurance Act (1978). This will reinstate legal accountability, thereby encouraging driver responsibility by facilitating adequate policing to establish fault and by encouraging the proper allocation of resources for modern traffic management systems.

On December 19th 2005, on a street corner in Montreal, 21 year old Jessica Holman-Price was crushed to death by a snow removal truck and her 10 year old brother was left with multiple fractures. The siblings and the truck were simultaneously given a green light at a pedestrian crossing near a YMCA. The truck took a tight blind right turn failing to yield priority to the pedestrians. It cut the snow from under the brother and sister causing them to slide underneath. A 76 year old man was killed in similar circumstances the following day.

Under Quebec's no-fault insurance system, Jessica's death and the injuries to her brother resulted in a $151 ticket to the driver for failing to give pedestrian priority. The offence would have been the same if he had missed them. In some other countries, it would have been manslaughter.

• The Fraser Institute issued an alert in September 2003 entitled "Public auto insurance: A mortality warning for motorists." which showed that fatality rates by population are 18% higher in provinces with public insurance


• In 2005 there were 35 murders in Montreal compared to 54 fatalities caused by motor vehicles


• The Insurance Bureau of Canada states that "Intense competition imposes discipline on private insurance markets." and "This discipline is absent in several provinces where auto insurance is provided by a public monopoly."

We, the friends and supporters of The Jessica Campaign, believe that lack of accountability allowed by Quebec's no-fault insurance legislation promotes traffic fatalities by discouraging cities like Montreal from spending what is needed to replace archaic traffic lighting systems and to enforce traffic laws.

We ask you to show your support for The Jessica Campaign by sending a letter to the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada and copies to:

• Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities


• Minister of Public Safety


• Minister of Public Works and Government Services


• Provincial Minister for Transport


• Provincial Minister for Public Security


• Provincial Minister for Tourism


• Provincial Minister for Municipal Affairs, Regions and Metropol

In order to:

• Urge the Government of Quebec to abolish the restriction of article 83.57 in the Automobile Insurance Act (No Fault insurance), at least in cases which involve fatalities and bodily injuries


• Seek an immediate investigation into the safety features and operation of heavy vehicles used primarily on urban streets so as to protect pedestrians better


• Demand an inquiry into the traffic policing practices of Montreal, again giving emphasis to pedestrian safety and pedestrian right of way


• Insist on Immediate implementation of pedestrian priority crossing signals as in the 1996 Economic Evaluation of Implementing a New Signalization System Report Quebec, Canada: Project de transports, 1996 report


• Help make the streets safer for everyone

Abolishing the Automobile Insurance Act (1978) will reinstate legal accountability, thereby encourage driver responsibility and facilitate adequate policing to establish fault and traffic management systems.

• The resources required by the city to compensate all victims of road traffic fatalities according to standard predetermined "scale rates" are significantly lower than those that would be required to implement robust road safety measures and thus protect it's citizens


• If the city were to face up to the possibility of lawsuits for all traffic fatalities and bodily injuries, then it would soon justify the expense of bringing traffic management systems into the 21st. century. Currently (and since 1978) in this context lawsuits are illegal

This tragic story of Jessica above, putting emphasis on lack of pedestrian safety on the streets of Montreal is further evidenced by the following:

• In 2005 there were 54 fatalities in Montreal due to motor vehicles


• There are several elementary schools and a very popular YMCA within the vicinity of the corner where Jessica was killed with no pedestrian priority crossing light


• There are many other vulnerable pedestrian locations similarly unprotected around the city of Montreal


• Quebec's "no fault" insurance prohibits accountability in fatalities caused by motor vehicles


• Driving culture in Montreal does not respect the rights of the pedestrians


• There are approximately 160,000 students in the city of Montreal a large proportion of whom are pedestrians


• Parking spaces in downtown Montreal as in other busy cities are expensive, forcing commuters and other pedestrians onto the streets


• Right hand turns on a red light are prohibited in Montreal - at the same time Montreal is known for what is called "Green/Green" priority - where vehicles are given a light to proceed at exactly the same time pedestrians receive a crossing light


• There has been insufficient ticketing of motorists (a source of revenue for the city) for failing to give right of way to pedestrians


• In many cases it is considered safer to jaywalk away from road junctions than to use the designated crossing points

Please show your support, look for the heart link at the bottom of every page of this site. Enter your own name and email address into the support letter and it will be sent directly to: The Prime Minister The Right Hon. Stephen Joseph Harper, P.C., M.P.

Thank you.