Former Mississauga mayor Hazel McCallion backs taxi industry in battle with Uber

Mississauga.com
July 6, 2016
By Rachael Williams

In a show of support for the taxi industry, former mayor Hazel McCallion submitted a letter to council recommending Uber be axed from Mississauga.

“I am appalled by Uber’s disregard of the laws of the City and ignoring the unanimous decision of the council,” reads the letter.

Penned on Hazel McCallion letterhead, it goes on to say the former mayor was “surprised that council agreed to give Uber a voting seat on the pilot project committee, since Uber is operating illegally in the city…”.

Chris Schafer, public policy manager for Uber, was selected to be part of a committee tasked with crafting a pilot program to allow for the co-existence of taxis and transportation network companies (TNC), like Uber.

Unlike her predecessor, Mayor Bonnie Crombie wants to “test drive ride sharing companies like UberX in Mississauga.”

“We want the taxi industry and TNC representatives to be full partners in this committee that is working toward developing a made in Mississauga pilot program to regulate TNCs,” said Crombie in a statement to The News.

McCallion endorsed Crombie in her mayoral campaign in 2014.

At a May meeting of the public vehicle advisory committee (PVAC) attended by McCallion, she refused to comment on Crombie’s handling of the Uber file in person.

However, her letter makes it clear that council has an obligation to protect the taxi industry from invasive technologies such as Uber.

“After all, they have played by the rules we set down,” wrote McCallion.

Crombie argues that it’s the will of the citizens to have several options for getting around the city, and Uber’s low fares and impressive service makes it a viable player in the ground transportation industry.

Crombie sits on the pilot program committee with councillors Ron Starr, Karen Ras, taxi representative Mark Sexsmith, and citizen member Al Cormier.

Last time the committee met, shouts of “shame” and “criminal” were heard from the audience, composed primarily of taxi representatives. Those shouts were directed at Crombie. Committee members had to leave council chambers and reconvene for an in-camera session.

Little progress was made at the in-camera session,

The committee has failed to meet its June 29 deadline for a pilot program to be created.

Starr predicts a September date for the next meeting, given summer vacations and scheduling conflicts.