Not towing the line
Tow truck operators take to streets to send message to city hall
SYDNEY — A convoy of tow trucks and flatbeds hit the streets of Sydney on Tuesday to deliver a message to city hall.
Representatives from most of the industry’s local companies spent the better part of an hour making their way the few short kilometres from the Mayflower Mall to downtown where they did a couple of passes by the Cape Breton Regional Municipality headquarters on the Esplanade.
The slow-moving procession of about 20 large vehicles with flashing lights, which the tow truck owners referred to as a show of unity rather than a protest, attracted the attention of other motorists and most likely everyone within earshot for that matter, as the trucks’ operators gave their air horns a good workout.
Their message was simple: they wanted to show municipal council their displeasure at the CBRM’s still-in-the-works tow truck licensing bylaw.
“We want council to be aware that the drivers are not happy with this and the tow truck industry is not happy with this,” said truck owner Frank Campbell.
“It’s a cash grab, nothing more. In this bylaw that they are proposing, there is no mention of safety, no mention of reliability. The trucks we have out there are obviously safe, they meet Nova Scotia regulations for safety. There’s no tow trucks breaking down. They’re no worry about reliability. Their (CBRM) worry seems to be about the money that they are getting.”
At issue is the by-law itself that CBRM official began crafting in 2019 after they determined that the towing industry in the municipality was unregulated. In June of 2020, Staff-Sgt. Joe Farrell of the Cape Breton Regional Police Service presented council with an issue paper on the proposed bylaw.
According to CBRM documents, Farrell then provided towing company owners in the CBRM with a copy of the proposed by-law and informed them of their opportunity to speak at a public hearing. Farrell reported he did not receive any feedback and the final reading of the by-law was approved by council a few days later.
However, many operators claim they had not heard of the by-law and that if they had they would have raised their concerns.
“There was no input or discussion or any proper research done,” said Stephen Jamael of the Sydney-based Jamael’s Towing Service.
“They want to dictate and change and lower our prices in an already struggling and depressed economy. This is unfair and unjust. No other local service industry has to do this. We just want to save the livelihood of our industry.”
Once the by-law was passed in June 2020, it went to Halifax for a provincial review which led to a number of recommendations. In turn, those suggestions led to the Cape Breton police introducing new proposed amendments to the by-law which were meant to improve its enforceability, create a schedule of fees charged by CBRM to tow truck owners and drivers and altered language on the clarification of driver’s license classification.
The amended by-law was then set to go back before council but was temporarily tabled until some issues could be worked out. It was then slated for a March council meeting, but that too was stricken from the agenda in an effort to undertake more public consultation.
Finally, the matter was placed on the agenda of Tuesday evening’s council meeting. However, the tow truck operators found out just before their rally that it had been set aside once again.
According to CBRM communications and information officer Christina Lamey, the matter was taken off the agenda to “allow more time for dialogue with the local tow industry”. Lamey also said the municipality was still waiting to see the final form of the proposed provincial impound and seizure regulations that were being reviewed by the province.
Meanwhile, the Roadside Responders Association of Nova Scotia has appealed to the CBRM to revisit the issues and consult with the industry before going ahead with the by-law.
In a letter to the municipality, executive director Heather Llewellyn wrote: “There were many sections of the bylaw the RRA knew would not pass the court test because court cases across Canada for towing and impound operators are reviewed weekly by the association.”
She went on to state: “No disrespect, but we are not prepared to tolerate this anymore by municipal officials and we are preparing media releases and press conferences and tow truck operators across the province are prepared to strike from responding to any calls until such time officials are willing to find a balance and have a reasonable and workable relationship with the towing and impound industry.
“It is unfortunate we have to go through these lengths for you to understand the real value towing and impound operators offer to your communities.”
In the meantime, industry operators say they will not back down from their efforts to negotiate a fair deal with the municipality.
“First, I feel we shouldn’t have been consulted because it shouldn’t have happened. This is a private industry and I don’t think the CBRM should have their nose in something they are not prepared to stick their fingers in,” said Campbell.
“If it does go through, then yes, I would think that every tow truck driver should have been notified and consulted.
“We pay our licensing, we pay our insurance, all our drivers are licensed and can operate anywhere in Nova Scotia. But now we have to pay $1,000 to work in the CBRM. That’s a problem.”
CBRM council is expected to revisit the by-law in July.