What Care-First Means for Albertans’ Right to Sue

A recent case study published in the Western Standard underlines a central and deeply concerning feature of Alberta’s proposed Care First no-fault auto insurance system: your right to sue at-fault drivers could disappear entirely. Under the province’s current model, injured Albertans retain access to the courts to seek compensation when another driver’s negligence causes serious harm. But under Care First, that fundamental right is replaced with a new administrative process controlled by the Care-First Tribunal — a system that puts insurers, not an impartial body like our Court system, in control of outcomes. 

The Western Standard case study illustrates how the Care-First system would shift decision-making away from independent courts and toward an adjudicative body whose rulings are essentially final, with limited meaningful avenues to challenge insurers’ decisions. This means that if you’re injured in a crash and your insurer refuses to compensate you adequately, you will no longer be able to appeal to an impartial judicial system for a fair hearing or meaningful compensation. Instead, any disputes will be resolved at the tribunal level, where private interests and regulatory frameworks, not legal precedent and judicial oversight, dictate outcomes. 

This move away from court access represents more than just a procedural change: it is a loss of a core legal safeguard that has long functioned to protect injured parties’ rights and ensured accountability for negligent conduct. Under a true no-fault model, injured Albertans will find themselves limited to predetermined benefits and tribunal decisions that may not reflect the full scope of their losses, especially in cases involving long-lasting or catastrophic injuries. 

THE BOTTOM LINE: Removing meaningful access to the judicial system will immediately and meaningfully limit the protections which Albertans currently have when they are harmed by another driver’s negligence. As this case study highlights, future reforms must balance efficiency with accountability, not replace one at the expense of the other.

Read the full story in the Western Standard: https://www.westernstandard.news/news/case-study-how-care-first-insurance-will-impact-albertans-right-to-sue/