Ontario mayors ask Guelph to help take lead on creating a how-to framework for ‘shared economy’

Guelphmercury.com
Aug. 22, 2016
By Duong Hallett

Mayor Cam Guthrie is pushing for a “how-to guide” for cities to deal with new technologies and start-ups in the so-called shared economy, and he says progress towards this was made at last week’s annual conference of the Association of Ontario Municipalities.

“A coordinated approach will be the best thing for all involved,” Guthrie said after returning from the four-day AMO conference in Windsor. He said municipalities need a how-to framework so “we are not all shooting from the hip” on the issue.

At the AMO conference, Guelph “was noticed as the one taking the lead on this,” said Guthrie, who personally views the shared economy favourably.

“The shared economy, to me, is probably one of the most capitalist, free enterprise initiatives that we have ever seen,” he said in an interview.

At the conference, Guthrie led a discussion among the 27 mayors in the Large Urban Mayors’ Caucus of Ontario on a proposed joint provincial-municipal framework on the shared economy, with a goal of balancing the need to maximize new economic opportunities and consumer choice with the need for appropriate regulation and protection of the public interest.

The LUMCO mayors supported the need for a unified approach to the shared economy, and it was agreed that Mississauga, London and Whitby will join with Guelph “as we partner with the province on this issue,” Guthrie said Thursday.

The province has already started dealing with it, with several government ministries having appointed people to study shared economy issues, he said.

The shared economy is a concern for all of the LUMCO cities, which have populations over 100,000, Guthrie said. “Some have not dealt with it yet, some are dealing with it right away.”

But in any event, “by default these technologies are pretty much landing,” he said, and “these start-ups tend to land in cities that are largest . . . there is a better take-up in larger cities for these sorts of things.”

Although it’s most often called the shared economy or the sharing economy, “ a lot of people are calling it the trusting economy,” he noted.

“How it works is actually through trust,” with users commonly consulting online ratings posted by other users about Uber drivers or about temporary accommodation offered through the Airbnb website, Guthrie said.

Whether what’s on offer is a ride on an unused car seat, a stay in a vacant room in a house or even use of a seldom-used lawn mower, the shared economy deals in “an asset that is underutilized and that can be shared peer to peer,” he said.

Start-ups involved in this new economic thrust are looking for cities to “land in,” Guthrie said, and he’d like to see Guelph “maybe be a testing ground” for these technologies.

The reality is that these sorts of businesses and technologies are here, and it doesn’t help to “bury out heads in the sand.”

Taking a position that encourages such businesses “is a better signal to be sending out than one that is wanting to fight back against these sorts of businesses,” he said.

In late May, Guelph council directed city staff to review the section of the city’s licensing bylaw related to bed-and-breakfasts. This followed complaints from at least one local B&B about licensing requirements in Guelph for B&Bs that aren’t faced by people providing temporary accommodations arranged using the Airbnb website.

At the same time, council decided to have city hall take a broader look at the impact on the city of disruptive technologies and the shared economy, which includes the Uber ride business that competes with taxis.

Waterloo Region council appears close to approving a vehicle-for-hire bylaw that would replace the region’s taxi bylaw, with a final decision expected as soon as Sept. 21. If passed, the new bylaw would make the riding-hailing Uber app legal in Waterloo Region.

Uber Canada began operating in Guelph, Waterloo Region, Hamilton and London on the same day in late July of 2015, with only a few hours notice given by the company before the start.

So far, Guelph hasn’t changed its taxi regulations, “meaning Uber is technically not yet licensed” to operate here, Guthrie said.

“Guelph is a little bit odd” in that taxi licences here are handed out not by the city, but rather by the Guelph Police Services Board, he said.

The police board and city officials in charge of licensing and bylaw enforcement are discussing moving taxi licences so they fall under the jurisdiction of city hall, Guthrie said.

A report on this will come to council soon, paving the way for city hall to grapple with the Uber issue, he said.

Guthrie was accompanied to last week’s AMO conference by councillors Cathy Downer and Mark MacKinnon, as well as several members of city hall staff.