WINNIPEG, Manitoba (April 4, 2014) — The province of Manitoba is proposing offering low-cost loans to consumers for buying winter tires.
The proposal, disclosed in the province's 2014 budget overview, would make low-cost loans available through Manitoba Public Insurance, a non-profit “Crown Corporation” that has provided basic automobile coverage since 1971.
Details of the proposal are still being worked out.
The loan program is one component of Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger's budget that plans to make life more affordable for Manitoba families, according to the Rubber Association of Canada, which estimates that only about one in five Manitoba drivers use winter tires, ranking the province among the worst in Canada in that aspect.
The province has not, however, announced any plans to make winter tires mandatory, local media reported. Quebec made winter tires mandatory on all four wheel positions in 2008.
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