Emotions boil over during council meeting over vehicle-for-hire bylaw

CTVnews.ca
Jan. 26, 2016
By Julia Parrish

A City Council meeting where councillors were scheduled to debate a bylaw that, if passed, would allow ride-sharing companies such as Uber to operate in Edmonton legally saw emotions boil over once again Tuesday afternoon.

In the crowd Tuesday, a number of taxi drivers were in the crowd to watch, many finding their own ways to protest introducing a bylaw that would outline rules for Uber to operate in Edmonton.

Back in September, 2015, dozens of taxi drivers stormed out of another council meeting on the subject, the loud protest bringing the meeting to a halt.

Then in November, Council asked administration to come up with a report which included more details on the fee structure, details that were released Thursday, January 21.

Those details were to be at the centre of debate Tuesday.

The meeting started in Council chambers at about 1:30 p.m., with city officials making a presentation on the vehicle-for-hire bylaw.

Details of the bylaw outlined by administration included the creation of two licences: one for ride-sharing companies like Uber, the other for taxis.

In addition, Uber would pay $70,000 every year for all cars to operate in the City, plus six cents per trip, and taxis would have to pay $410 per year for their licence.

Shortly after the meeting started, Councillor Mike Nickel put forward a motion to put off debate on the bylaw until the byelection in Ward 12 was completed - a motion that was defeated by council.

When that motion was defeated, taxi drivers who were inside chambers stood in protest, bringing the meeting to a grinding halt – and police and peace officers tried to clear the crowd.

An hour later, chambers were completely cleared.

Once chambers were cleared, councillors, City staff and members of the media were allowed back into chambers - but members of the public, including Uber members and taxi officials, were not.

Members of the public were allowed to stay in the lobby of City Hall and watch the proceedings on a screen.

A short time later, many of the taxi drivers left - releasing black balloons outside of City Hall, describing it as a ‘black day for democracy’.

In the meeting, councillors voted to enact a minimum fare of $3.25 for both Uber, and for taxis - a move Uber has said they don’t support.

Finally, the meeting was adjourned late Tuesday afternoon, with plans to continue debate on the subject Wednesday.