TWO STRIKES Canadian cabbies want Uber out

Posted on 02/11/2016 | About Montreal, Quebec

Montreal taxi and limousine drivers targeted the city's airport Wednesday as part of their protest against Uber. Meanwhile, a newly formed group of Toronto taxi drivers says it will go on strike during Friday's afternoon rush hour.
In Montreal A statement by the taxi industry said 800 cab drivers and owners headed to Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport. No flights were disrupted by the protest. A spokesman for the cabbies, Benoit Jugand, said Uber is allowed to operate at the airport, even though the taxi industry has a $2.5-million contract with the agency that runs the facility. “We have to send a message: Uber is not welcome in Quebec,” Jugand told a news conference at the airport. “We have laws that are clear and we want them to be respected...The people who work in the taxi industry, mothers and fathers, are people who respect laws.” “We hope the premier understands the message we're sending today. Because, if not, they (the protests) will continue and be bigger each time. Other protests were set for elsewhere in the city later in the day. The airport authority later issued a statement to say Uber is not available at the airport. The Quebec branch of the United Steelworkers union, which represents many Montreal taxi drivers, wants to pressure the province into forcing Uber to stop operating during upcoming legislative inquiry into the taxi industry. Taxi drivers say the government hasn't done enough to clamp down on Uber drivers, who they say have been undercutting fares and operating outside the law. Last week the Quebec government announced it would create a commission to look into ways of integrating new technological entrants into the highly regulated taxi business. The cabbies say they will stop their protests if Uber suspends its operations during the commission's work. On Wednesday, Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre called for a “truce” between the taxi industry and Uber, adding the company should “stop its activities” during the legislative inquiry. Uber Canada spokesman Jean-Christophe de Le Rue said it was “unfortunate” Coderre was “seeking to protect the monopoly interests of the taxi industry while overlooking the majority of Montrealers who have made clear their desire for safe, reliable and affordable transportation options.” Quebec Transport Minister Jacques Daoust said he wants Uber to stop its ``illegal'' activities. Daoust noted that the government has already seized 1,000 cars operated by Uber drivers. In Toronto Paul Sekhon of the United Taxi Workers Association of the GTA told CityNews's Breakfast Television on Wednesday that the group has obtained permits for the protest, which could stretch into the weekend. He says participating taxi drivers will travel down Highway 427 to the Gardiner Expressway, onto Lake Shore Boulevard and around the Air Canada Centre. The association came together last weekend as tensions between taxi drivers and the UberX ride-hailing service continue to escalate. The taxi industry has staged many protests over the service, which it says is illegal. Sekhon says the goal is to see UberX, which connects riders with drivers not licensed as taxis, banned in Toronto. The city recently gave Uber a taxi brokerage licence for another of its services that connects riders with cab drivers through a mobile app. City officials in Toronto are also working on a bylaw. A report is expected in April. Mayor John Tory has commended Edmonton and says he hopes his city can accomplish the same thing. Edmonton city council recently approved a bylaw that would allow Uber and similar companies to operate legally. The bylaw takes effect March 1 and includes two licences: one for firms called private transportation providers and the other for taxis.