Court puts brakes on Uber drivers in Calgary
CALGARY— A court has issued a temporary injunction stopping drivers from offering rides for a fee using the Uber app in Calgary.
Justice G. H. Poelman of Court of Queen’s Bench issued the injunction Friday and it will be in place until a hearing on Dec. 17.
The city of Calgary will argue at that time to have the injunction permanently in place to stop drivers from offering or providing rides for a fee using a vehicle hired through the Uber smartphone-based app until safety, insurance and regulatory requirements are met. Poelman said evidence showed drivers using the Uber app were breaching the city’s bylaw.
The justice said the injunction would extend to the 57 drivers named in Calgary’s application as offering rides using Uber as well as to all other people operating as an Uber driver in Calgary.
City lawyer Colleen Sinclair is pleased with the ruling.
“This is recognition that private for-hire vehicles operating under the Uber umbrella are breaching the city’s bylaw and they have been ordered to stop,” Sinclair said.
“This pulls a number of vehicles that are not appropriately insured, licensed or inspected off the road and prevents them from offering a potentially unsafe service.”
The court also granted an application for legal counsel representing 45 of the 50 drivers named in the injunction application to protect the personal information of those drivers.