A complicated road ahead of us

Opinion

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This article was published 18/12/2017 (2826 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

To almost no one’s surprise, the race card has been played in the murky, hyper-complex politics surrounding ride-hailing services.

Last week, the city finally passed a bylaw allowing ride-hailing services such as Lyft and Uber to begin operating in Winnipeg as of March 1. The debate at city hall over the bylaw was rife with conflict, with councillors and other observers raising concerns about racism.

Representatives of the two largest taxi companies accused city council of attacking “the Sikh community (and) other minority groups.” Coun. Russ Wyatt, one of six who voted against the bylaw, accused supporters of engaging in “systemic racism” by allowing such services without many of the costs that taxi owners face.

The raucous tenor of the debate ramped up again two days later when the two largest taxi companies’ owners filed a lawsuit, alleging Premier Brian Pallister’s government acted in bad faith when it passed enabling legislation that opened the door to ride-hailing services and, in so doing, did irreparable damage to the value of their licences. The companies are also seeking an injunction to block the city’s bylaw.

The fact that the taxi companies have gone to court is hardly surprising; neither the province nor the city did much to level the playing field. This has, the taxi companies alleged, driven down the value of individual licences from a high of $500,000 to $80,000. Also not surprising is the fact that the taxi companies claimed racism is behind the actions of both levels of government. The suit notes Winnipeg’s taxi industry is currently dominated by licence owners and drivers who are “male, immigrants to Canada, and of South Asian ethnicity and national origin.”

Racism has been a prevalent theme in the global battle between taxi and ride-hailing industries for some time, although the circumstances of exactly who is being racist and why differ wildly from country to country, city to city.

In London, white British cabbies have long-dominated the traditional taxi industry by more than a 2-1 ratio, sparking concerns that systemic racism was at work in preventing non-white drivers from obtaining licences. The introduction of ride-hailing services, which has a much more ethnically diverse driver base, triggered a veritable race war that has seen verbal and physical confrontations between drivers. On the other side of the Atlantic, concerns about racism have focused largely on whether ride-hailing drivers are discriminating against non-white passengers.

An October 2016 study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that black males, particularly those requesting rides from low-density neighbourhoods, were three times more likely to have bookings cancelled on Lyft and Uber. Although this has been a problem with the taxi industry as well, it was of particular concern because ride-hailing services provide drivers with information and, in some instances, photos of riders in advance of pickups.

Now that the race card has reared its ugly head in the local debate over ride-hailing, you can expect it to become a live issue in politics at both the local and provincial level.

The Sikh community remains an active participant in politics at all levels, even though its ability to make or break different candidates is sometimes overstated. What is clear is that in certain elections and constituencies, the Sikh community is a force that politicians must contend with.

For the Pallister government, a bitter and high-profile legal battle with the Sikh community has the potential to further complicate re-election plans in 2020. According to recent opinion polling, support for the Tories has been sliding in seat-rich Winnipeg, and the Sikh community could very well have a direct impact on several key swing ridings. Chief among them The Maples, a hotbed of Sikh politics currently held by former NDP MLA Mohinder Saran, who was expelled from his party after allegations of sexual harassment. He now sits as an Independent.

In the 2016 election, Saran was locked in a tight battle with Tory candidate Kaur Sidhu, ultimately prevailing by only 127 votes. After Saran was expelled from the NDP caucus, the Tories rightly viewed The Maples as ripe for the taking. A prickly battle with the Sikh community over ride-hailing legislation could dramatically alter Tory fortunes in this northwest Winnipeg riding.

The great risk for politicians is that the debate over racism and ride-hailing services is emotional. Companies such as Lyft and Uber are, if anything, relentlessly colour-blind about the way they go about business. That is to say, both companies are ruthless in undercutting traditional taxis, regardless of the race, creed or colour of their drivers.

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Lawmakers need to focus on fairness, without getting dragged into allegations of racism. The city still has not done enough to level the playing field between taxis and ride-hailing cars. An open mind will be important going forward.

And the taxi industry needs to remember its drivers are likely to drive for both the taxi companies and ride-hailing services, if the experience in other jurisdictions is any indication. Even on the issue of the value of tax licences, some sober commentary would be constructive.

Licences only increased into the half-million-dollar range because of the success of the taxi industry in keeping a cap on the total number of taxis. The loss of value is really more of a market correction that should allow more people to compete now to own a licence.

But as long as race is fuelling the firestorm over ride-hailing services, it’s unlikely that cooler heads will prevail.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca

Dan Lett
Columnist

Dan Lett is a columnist for the Free Press, providing opinion and commentary on politics in Winnipeg and beyond. Born and raised in Toronto, Dan joined the Free Press in 1986.  Read more about Dan.

Dan’s columns are built on facts and reactions, but offer his personal views through arguments and analysis. The Free Press’ editing team reviews Dan’s columns before they are posted online or published in print — part of the our tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.