Jess McDiarmid
Northern News Services
Published Friday, December 14, 2007
YELLOWKNIFE - City council put a temporary stop to issuing taxi licences Monday night in a 4-4 tie vote that had to be broken by the mayor.
That decision was preceded by a motion, passed unanimously, to do further research on how best to regulate the industry and consult with drivers, owners, companies and the public.
Some drivers who rent their cabs said a cap would mean they could never own their own cars. "By freezing the plates, you're making it even harder for me," said Samir Blata, who pays about $20,000 a year to rent his cab. "If you freeze the plates, I got no job. Simple as that" - Jess McDiarmid/NNSL Photo |
The moratorium will last until September 2008.
Council heard presentations from drivers, company owners and former owners on the contentious issue of whether the city should permanently limit the number of cabs on Yellowknife streets.
About 60 taxi drivers attended to the council meeting, filling council chambers and flooding out into the lobby where they watched proceedings on a live feed. Some were strongly in support of putting a cap on the number of taxis in the city in hopes that it would mean a better living for existing drivers.
They said there are too many taxis operating in Yellowknife, which cuts into their earnings. Most drivers work 12 to 14 hours a day and, after expenses, earn hardly enough to get by, they said.
Others argued that those who didn't already have their own car and licence would never get the chance if there was a cap.
"By freezing the plates, you're making it even harder for me," said Samir Blata, who pays about $20,000 a year to rent his cab. "If you freeze the plates, I got no job. Simple as that."
Diamond Cab owner Ted Yaceyko spoke out against the freeze, saying drivers earn a decent living and more cabs are needed. When questioned as to what would constitute a decent wage, he said $44,000 per year or more.
The average yearly income for Yellowknife, according to the city's community profile, was roughly $54,700 in 2005. Average family income was about $117,000.
The issue came before the council meeting, which ran 4.5 hours, following a presentation last week to the municipal services committee by the Yellowknife Taxi Drivers Association.
The association, representing about 90 drivers from both companies, sought to cap the number of licences at its current level of approximately 110.
"At this limit, we can live with it," said association representative Fadil Memedi. "We're not going to starve."
City officials said the number of licence applications has increased since that meeting.
Coun. Dave McCann pointed out that discussions about limiting licences have been ongoing for two years and called for the temporary moratorium as an act of good faith while a solution is reached.
"We have big problems in this industry," said McCann.
Coun. Bob Brooks said the current regulations aren't working. Given that licence applications have already increased, a freeze should occur while the city tries to figure out the right formula.
"All my experience tells me this is a long-standing problem that keeps getting worse," said Brooks.
Councillors McCann, Brooks, David Wind and Kevin Kennedy voted in favour of the temporary cap.
Councillors Paul Falvo, Shelagh Montgomery, Lydia Bardak and Mark Heyck voted against it.
Bardak said opinions of the public and of drivers were far from one-sided.
A temporary freeze would mean they'd be taking something away if they decided not to impose limits to the number of licences after the nine-month period, she said.
Falvo stressed that council was making a big decision that affected people's livelihoods but in the end was responsible for representing the best interests of the public.
"Council has to ask themselves, who are we doing this for?" said Falvo.
He said he believed council wanted to protect the "little guys" but he wasn't sure a cap would do that.
"I just don't think we have the information we need," he said. "I do not favour restraining who can enter this profession."
