Winnipeg cab companies, Indigenous community propose new advocate to improve women's safety
Initiative also recommends expanded Indigenous cultural training for drivers
Winnipeg cab companies and a new action group spearheaded by Indigenous women have come together to form a partnership aimed at making transportation safer.
Shaneen Robinson Desjarlais, a spokesperson for the action group, said the first-of-its-kind agreement is long overdue.
"One of our committee members said, 'I don't even allow my daughter to take cabs in this city,'" she said, speaking at an announcement at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights Monday.
"And that really affected some of our our new friends in the cab company. And they realized, OK, there's something we got to do here. We need to make an action plan right now. So that's what we're committed to today."
The recommendations include having an advocate where Indigenous women can bring complaints, cultural training for new cab drivers before they can get their licence, and restorative justice options when incidents occur.
There have been numerous incidents reported where Indigenous women have had negative experiences with cab drivers, including accusations of harassment and assault.
'Bridge the gap'
Representatives of the taxi companies said they hope the new advocate will help resolve conflicts that sometimes arise over misunderstandings between drivers and passengers, some of which arise over language barriers.
"What happened in the past we can't change that, so we are committed for the future. We don't want to see that kind of experiences," said Ram Valluru, general manager for Duffy's Taxi.
"Duffy's and Unicity [Taxi] leadership are looking for a way forward to work hard with the community to bridge the gap between these two communities."
Stories about negative experiences with Winnipeg taxi drivers are familiar to many Indigenous women.
A driver for Unicity had his taxi driver's licence suspended for five years in November 2021 following an incident on Sept. 26.
A 19-year-old First Nations woman says the driver assaulted her and locked her in the vehicle after a dispute.
When she tried to get out, she says the driver drove on, dragging her for a short distance.
Winnipeg police charged the driver with forcible confinement and assault, but the Crown decided not to pursue the charges further.
"Since taxis have been in Winnipeg and since women have been in Winnipeg, I think there have been complaints, concerns and serious trauma that have occurred," said Christine Brouzes, co-director of Ikwe Safe Rides.
The volunteer group, which provides Indigenous women an alternative to taking a cab, has been on hiatus since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but they are in discussions with potential partner organizations to get started again.
Brouzes serves on the city's Transit Advisory Committee and says many of the new initiatives announced Monday are already being worked on.
In 2018, the city implemented new rules requiring audio recording in taxis, and a complaint process that goes through 311 already exists.
"We haven't heard too many people actually being brave enough to call and make the complaint because historically it fell on deaf ears. So the few that I've heard of that made the complaint were very satisfied," said Brouzes.
"One resulted in a charge and the other two resulted in the complaint being brought forward to the taxi company and an official apology being brought forward to the passenger."
Brouzes is also part of a subcommittee that spent the last two years developing new training — including Indigenous cultural training — which drivers are in the process of taking.
Details unclear
Many details about the agreement remain unclear, including who would hire the new advocate.
Grant Heather, manager of the city's vehicles for hire department, said the advocate could be a new position hired by the city, or it could be created and funded by the taxi companies themselves.
The content of any new training would also need to be worked out.
"There is already training in place for new drivers … that includes an Indigenous component. We're just looking at an expanded Indigenous component that gets more into what the committee feels is necessary," said Heather.
A spokesperson for the city said it has participated in discussions with the organizing members of Monday's announcement but is not a signatory to the agreement.
The city will consider any of their policy recommendations for possible policy implementation, but any bylaw changes would need council approval.
A report based on consultations the city is conducting on improving safety on public transportation is due in spring 2023.
There are currently about 2,000 licensed taxi drivers, and another 1,000 drivers working for ride-hailing applications like Uber, operating in Winnipeg, Heather said.
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