Calling his actions ''detestable'' and ''absolutely unbecoming,'' a contrite Alberta lawyer quit yesterday as adviser to an accident-victims' group that has been widely seen as doing more mudslinging than debating over rising insurance rates.
"I've seen myself deteriorate from a watchdog to a mad dog in the debate," said Mark McCourt, who had been legal counsel with Accident Victims/Insurance Policyholders Advocate (AVIPA) since the summer.
Mr. McCourt has launched personal attacks for months in news releases and media reports against Conservative MLAs involved in crafting new provincial insurance legislation that includes rate freezes and compensation caps. The bill was introduced in the legislature yesterday.
AVIPA has also used Mr. McCourt's relatives in advertisements he now calls "bogus" aimed at proclaiming the plight of accident victims under a regime that places a ceiling on injury awards.
Mr. McCourt, a 36-year-old personal injury lawyer in Edmonton, said he had a meeting with AVIPA members -- there are about 60 -- on Thursday about complaints received from the public, MLAs, lawyers and journalists about his "overzealous statements and tactics." He said he later took a long drive in the country to reflect on his behaviour as lawyer-turned-lobbyist on this hot-button issue.
"As a lawyer, it would never have occurred to me to do that sort of thing," he said. "I had become a different person and I didn't like it."
The Law Society of Alberta said all complaints about members are confidential unless there is a hearing. No hearing is scheduled for Mr. McCourt.
Government and insurance industry representatives described the development as nothing short of bizarre. "I will call it a fascinating epiphany," Alberta Finance Department spokesman Jerry Bellikka said. "This is somebody who has been very, very broad with his comments he's made impugning the minister's motives."
Mr. McCourt "unfairly maligned" the Finance Minister's family during his "smear campaign," Mr. Bellikka said.
Mr. McCourt suggested a premium freeze would help Finance Minister Patricia Nelson's son, who is a young driver with a sky-high insurance rate, and nicknamed the package "Troy's law" in his honour. He also suggested a cap on minor-injury payouts to $4,000 would help keep insurance company profits up, including a Calgary firm where Ms. Nelson's stepdaughter works.
Mr. McCourt also accused MLA Rob Renner of favouring the insurers. Mr. Renner headed the auto insurance reform committee, whose members are mainly industry representatives.
Mr. McCourt has also accused the Ralph Klein government of treating the public as "idiots" and being in bed with the insurance industry lobby. A news release in August said it was time for the Alberta Finance Department to "end its sweaty summer romance" with the insurance industry.
Yesterday, Mr. McCourt apologized to Ms. Nelson, Mr. Renner and Mr. Klein.
AVIPA also ran ads in Alberta newspapers this summer featuring a seven-year-old named Rebecca and her mother. A footnote said the ad was a composite of actual accident victims, but the girl pictured was Mr. McCourt's daughter and the woman was his sister-in-law.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada, which represents private insurers in the country, said it was also a target of AVIPA attacks that its members had planned to "rate-shock" consumers to make up for investment losses.
"We certainly didn't agree with the approach," said Jim Rivait, IBC's vice-president for the Prairie provinces and the Northwest Territories. Still, Mr. Rivait said Mr. McCourt isn't a "bad guy," just someone who got carried away.
Mr. Bellikka was less generous.
"I can't either accept or reject the apology," he said. "This has been a mudslinging campaign."