One of the items in the province's budget announced March 6 is a low-interest-rate loan program to help people purchase winter tires.
The province plans to introduce a financing option through Manitoba Public Insurance, where vehicle owners can buy winter tires on a plan. It says it's about safety for everyone on the roads.
CAA likes the idea but says if the province is serious about safety, the program needs to go further.
"Similar to the immobilizer program where if you have winter tires, you will reduce claims in the future, you take the present value of those savings and you can use those monies to rebate back," said CAA Manitoba President Mike Mager.
Mager adds making winter tires exempt from PST would also help. But not everyone thinks they need winter tires, and unless the province makes it mandatory, some say they'll stick to all-season tires.
MPI is still studying the options and it doesn't know how many vehicles already have the winter tires. It did say the tires would help lower the number of collision.
This winter alone, MPI says there are now at least 56,000 claims due to collisions. That's about 15 per cent higher than last year.
