UBER PROBLEMS Calgary gets injunction against UberX. Toronto Taxi Alliance urges city to do the same.

Posted on 11/23/2015

Calgary is enforcing the law against Uber, and Toronto should be doing the same, says the Toronto Taxi Alliance (TTA). "Congratulations to Mayor Naheed Nenshi and the City of Calgary for demonstrating true political will when dealing with a renegade business which flagrantly disobeys the law," says Sam Moini, spokesperson for the TTA.

"We commend Calgary for taking a stand for the rule of law in Canada. "Calgary is protecting its citizens. The injunction is designed to ensure that the public is not put at risk. Why is Toronto Mayor Tory continuing to play Russian roulette with Torontonians' lives by allowing illegal and uninsured cars to roam the street with impunity?" With thousands of uninsured and untrained UberX drivers operating on our streets it is only a matter of time before a serious accident will result in insurance mayhem, Moini says.

"Until UberX comes into regulatory compliance, they should be barred from operating in our city. “Toronto has made the necessary changes to bring its bylaws into compliance with the judge's ruling. Now, before the bad weather sets in and the risks go up, we need to get these unregulated, non-inspected and uninsured cars off the road." Calgary reported in a press release on November 20th that the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta has issued a temporary injunction against drivers offering rides for a fee using the Uber app.

Justice G. H. Poelman issued the injunction to run until a full hearing December 17. At that time, Calgary will argue the injunction should be permanent to stop drivers from offering or providing rides for a fee using a vehicle hired through the Uber app until safety, insurance and regulatory requirements are met. "Toronto's Licensing and Standards Division did the right thing when it applied for an injunction last year; however, Justice Dunphy had to reject the injunction because Toronto's definition of 'taxi' was outdated, referring only to telephones and not apps. Toronto rectified this problem on September 30th, and should have acted immediately to file another injunction application," Moini says. "In Toronto, while hundreds of cars are being towed for parking illegally, not one single UberX vehicle has been towed for operating without insurance. Which offense does Toronto consider more serious: a parking infraction, or driving without insurance?"

On Twitter, Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi was very blunt in his assessments of Uber's willingness to break the law, as well as its lack of insurance – two situations with exact parallels in Ontario. On Saturday Mohini said,"The TTA encourages Toronto to return to Ontario court with a new injunction request, in light of the September 30 Council decision. It's November 21st; why is Toronto waiting to take action against this illegal, uninsured operation?"