Jess McDiarmid
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, December 19, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - Council voted Monday to temporarily stop issuing licences, but the mayor was needed to break a 4-4 tie.

The bylaw, now in effect, freezes the number of taxis on the road for up to nine months while the city studies the industry.

About 60 taxi drivers showed up at city hall last week for the debate on a taxi moratorium. The bylaw putting the freeze into effect passed Monday night. - Jess McDiarmid/NNSL photo

While some councillors said a freeze is necessary while the city gathers information and considers further regulation, others argued they shouldn't be making decisions without information.

The city issued eight new taxi licenses since discussions began two weeks ago and 11 appointments for new licenses were scheduled Monday, an increase from the norm, said director of public safety Dennis Marchiori.

"We're proposing to amend the bylaw without a lot of information. There's also conflicting information," said Coun. Mark Heyck. "To me, this is terribly rushed here ... We're betraying the due process that the citizens of Yellowknife expect from us and I have a big problem with that."

He said he'd like to know the average wage of a Yellowknife taxi driver, the average number of cars on the road over five to 10 years and the number of drivers who rent versus own their cars, among other things.

The decision followed a presentation to committee two weeks ago by the Yellowknife Taxi Drivers' Association, a group representing about 90 drivers that asked the city to stop issuing taxi plates so that existing drivers could earn higher wages.

The association put forward a host of other recommendations such as mandatory driver training.

Councillors Heyck, Lydia Bardak, Paul Falvo and Shelagh Montgomery voted against the bylaw. Councillors Bob Brooks, Kevin Kennedy, Dave McCann and David Wind were in favour.

Brooks said the freeze gives the city time to work out a solution to a problem going on for at least 15 years.

"In all that time, it's been my view that the system continues to get worse," he said. "While we try to work out a solution to this long-standing problem, things continue to deteriorate farther."

Mayor Gord Van Tighem said he voted in favour of the temporary cap to protect the ability of council and the city to limit the number of taxis in Yellowknife if they decide to after the study.

"I have supported the temporary restriction for up to nine months while they study and the recommendations come forward," he said. "For that reason only, I will continue to support it."