Golf course owners are at the mercy of Mother Nature and the economy, but they did win a round with the provincial government on June 2.
The Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, a package of housekeeping measures approved at the end of the spring Legislative sitting, included exemption of 1,900 golf carts and 14,000 utility vehicles from registration, licensing and insurance.
B.C. chapters of the Canadian Rental Association and the National Golf Course Owners' Association of Canada wanted the change since 2009 because they argued their general liability insurance policies already covered such equipment.
University Golf Club general manager Michael Mather said his course has 80 golf carts and 35 mowers and tractors, which cost $100 to $300 each to insure through ICBC. The government immediately cancelled the requirement and began issuing rebates.
"It will be a significant savings for us moving forward, a great year to help us out on a really bad weather year, Mather told the Courier. It's something that has long been a double dip B.C. was doing. We were covered up to the teeth already.
Doug Ferne, B.C. regional director for the NGCOAC, called the move "a ray of sunshine in what has been a pretty cloudy time for the golf industry." The average facility was spending $15,000.
Those are dollars and hours that can be better spent being efficient in their marketing or in their hiring with more people to assist them, Ferne said.
He said his group hired lobbyist agency Western Policy Group to arrange meetings with cabinet ministers, including the revolving door of solicitors general (Kash Heed, Mike de Jong, Rich Coleman and finally Shirley Bond). Efforts were shelved during the first quarter of 2010 because of the Olympics and Paralympics.
NDP solicitor general critic Kathy Corrigan said the move was not opposed.
It was seen reasonable to decrease regulation in this case, Corrigan said. If this was seen to result in increased claims or risks, health and safety risk, I'd certainly want to reassess it.
An undated briefing note, obtained via Freedom of Information, advised de Jong that the Motor Vehicle Act included parking lots within the definition of highways and vehicles included golf carts and utility vehicles, such as forklifts, person lifts, mowers, backhoes, graders, and loaders.
B.C. and Manitoba required golf carts be insured for operations in parking lots. Golf carts in Alberta and Quebec are banned from parking lots, but Saskatchewan and Ontario allow golf carts in parking lots without registration or insurance.
Cabinet approved proceeding with the amendment in December 2010, according to a Feb. 21, 2011 issue note. Just how much it is costing ICBC and government coffers is unknown. The documents were heavily censored under loopholes that allow cabinet records, legal advice and policy recommendations to remain secret.
Among those bound to benefit are prominent B.C. Liberal Party backers, such as University Golf Club operator David Ho and the Aquilini family, which owns the 36-hole Golden Eagle course near their vast Pitt Meadows blueberry farms. Elections B.C. records show Ho companies donated $115,833 from 2005 to 2007, while Aquilini companies gave $600,580 from 2005 to 2011.
According to a 2009 report for the Royal Canadian Golf Association, golf directly employed 19,328 people in B.C. and had a direct $494.5 million impact on the provinces gross domestic product.
