Quebec promises compensation for lost permit value
Taxi drivers will be compensated for the lost value of their permits, Transport Minister André Fortin said.
“We’re talking about a compensation package that has to be discussed with the industry to see how we can best meet their needs,” Fortin said at a Friday morning news conference held at la Perle Retrouvée, a Haitian community centre in St-Michel and a regular gathering spot for taxi drivers.
Fortin announced the creation of a working group composed of members of the industry and the finance department to figure out how to compensate drivers for the lost value of their permits. He promised to come up with a concrete solution by February.
Patrick Saint Fleur, a taxi driver and permit-holder, said he’s angry it has taken so long for the government to offer compensation.
“They let this all drag on, and in the meantime, drivers lost their homes, or their taxis,” he said.
Taxi drivers have complained that since the arrival of Uber in the province, the value of their permits — which are required to operate taxis in the province — has drastically declined.
First introduced by the government several decades ago, the permits are a way to control the supply of taxis in the province.
They are sold on the secondary market, listed on digital billboards like Kijiji and Craigslist, and sell for up to $200,000. A recent Montreal Gazette examination showed permits in the Montreal region declined by between nine and 18.9 per cent in the span of a year between 2016 and 2017.
Fortin also announced a $44-million project over five years to modernize the taxi industry.
The money, most of which has been collected from surcharges added to Uber rides, will come in the form of subsidies for taxi drivers to purchase fully electric cars and chargers, and to convert their cabs for adapted transport.
Fortin said the government also hopes to finally introduce a longpromised mobile application for all taxi drivers in the province, and brand all the province’s taxis, along the lines of Montreal’s initiative to have cabs painted with the word Bonjour.
Fortin said the government also appears open to revisiting the wisdom of the entire permit system.
Currently, there are two classes of drivers, ones who drive taxis and have to pay the permits, and those who drive for Uber and don’t have to buy the permits.
“I think it’s something we have to look at over the long term, to see what (the industry thinks would) provide a more equitable framework,” Fortin said.
Fortin said the government is responsible to help taxi drivers because it created the permit system in the first place.
“We’re talking about real families who made a real investment based on a system that was established by the government, with an expectation of revenue, and the landscape is changing,” he said.
The taxi industry has taken the government to court demanding compensation for lost revenue and values of their permits, and a hearing is expected later this month.
Dama Metellus, the plaintiff named in the class-action suit, said if the government was serious about compensating taxi drivers for lost income, it would sit down and negotiate a settlement of the class-action case through the taxi drivers’ lawyers.
Speaking for the industry, MarcAntoine Cloutier welcomed the announcement, saying it was a good first step. Cloutier said, however, if the government intends to eliminate the permit system, it must fully compensate taxi drivers for the permits that they currently hold.