Delegates convince Winnipeg committee to keep code of conduct for taxi, limo, ride-hail drivers

Nearly two dozen people convinced the city's public works committee to keep a code of conduct and new fines for taxi and vehicle-for-hire drivers in a proposed bylaw change.

"I don't think anybody at city hall has any intentions of promoting, supporting, endorsing any type of activity against any woman, any man, any human being in a taxicab. That was not the intention," said Coun. Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan) after eight hours of delegations on Wednesday.

"When it comes to putting back the driver code of conduct piece — it's not perfect. There are still some questions from industry. There's a good opportunity to get it right. But what we're doing now is moving it forward."

On March 8, the City of Winnipeg's infrastructure renewal and public works committee approved an amendment to the vehicles for hire bylaw, which laid out rules explicitly forbidding drivers from sexually harassing passengers, and imposed fines up to $250 for violations.

At last month's city council meeting, however, councillors voted 8-6 to send the proposed bylaw amendment back for the committee to review with the sections including the code of conduct and fines removed.

On Wednesday, Browaty and Coun. Markus Chambers put forward a motion endorsing the proposed changes from council to delete the sections containing the code of conduct and fines. During delegations, Chambers said the intention was to pull it back and make it stronger for drivers and passengers.

"These are things that should be common civility and here we are codifying them. These are things that we should be treating each other with the respect that is due," he said.

Committee chair Coun. Matt Allard (St. Boniface) said he intended to vote for the amendment as it was originally written, while Coun. Devi Sharma (Old Kildonan) was absent.

After hours of discussions with community members, the committee voted to go back to what was presented last month to city council, keeping the code of conduct. Chambers added a note in the official motion, committing to constant collaboration with Indigenous communities and governments, as well as those who work in the taxi, limo and ride-hailing industry.

Delegates share memories of fear, discomfort during taxi rides

Many of the speakers were First Nations women who shared experiences of uncomfortable encounters they or their relatives and friends have had with drivers, which included inappropriate comments and demands for payment up front.

Dozens of supporters sat in the public gallery on Wednesday, many of them wearing ribbon skirts.

"I really didn't want to be here today because I have a very busy job, and I have lots of things to do," Cora Morgan told the committee. The First Nations family advocate with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs said she trusts the city to do the right thing, and bring this code of conduct forward.

"This is good faith that you are listening and that you're paying attention, and that these gestures of signing accords and committing to calls for justice and calls to action — that it's not just disingenuous," she said. 

"The bare minimum should be there, because that's sending a signal to our people that they're being heard, and that they're significant, and that they've been waiting a really, really long time for this."

Sandra DeLaronde, an advocate for missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and gender-diverse people, told councillors she was there to express "disappointment and shock" and to urge councillors to pass the bylaw changes as originally written.

"We think that the code of conduct is important and that, definitely, further work needs to be done," she said in an interview with CBC News.

"Taking those measures out of the motion really doesn't create any level of safety for Indigenous women and girls and gender-diverse people, in fact, for anyone who decides to take a vehicle for hire."

Acknowledging problems

The committee also heard from a lawyer representing the Winnipeg Community Taxi Association, which had advocated at city council for the removal of those sections of the bylaw amendment.

Andrew Buck, with Pitblado Law, acknowledged there have been problems between drivers and passengers, and said the industry wanted to work with the city to craft new rules to address concerns.

"It would be helpful if we could have a broader interest-based discussion about actually coming up with wording," instead of the city telling the industry what it intended to do "without any consultation or suggestions as to potential improvements of bylaws."

Buck said removing the code of conduct was not about "winning a delay for the industry," but DeLaronde said that's exactly what it would have done.

"There's no weight to the bylaw and in the community, there will be nothing in the next year or so that will protect women that they can rely on to support their complaint process."

Thy bylaw amendment will go to the executive policy committee on April 20.

DeLaronde said this should be an election issue, and Winnipeggers should be paying attention to how their councillors vote on the topic, since it's an election year.

Winnipeggers go to the polls Oct. 26.