Compelling, in-depth coverage of the people and stories behind the news and their opinions.
Ottawa’s Bikers’ Church opened its doors when so many remained closed by Donna Laframboise On the outside, Capital City Bikers’ Church is hulking, uninviting, intimidating. Towering brick walls, and lots of stairs to climb before reaching the main entrance. Built
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The Accessible Fund whereby one segment of the industry is MADE to pay for another is just insane By Andy Réti For over 30 years, I was making deputations at City Hall in the mistaken belief that just “this time
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Canada’s Finance Minister posts open letter on X resigning her portfolio “Dear Prime Minister, It has been the honour of my life to serve in government, working for Canada and Canadians. We have accomplished a lot together. On Friday, you
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If they didn’t have double standards, they’d have no standards at all The twenty-ninth edition of the U.N. Climate Change Committee’s annual “Conference of the Parties,” also known as COP29, wrapped up recently, and I must say, it seemed a
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All every Uber driver wants, is what every Taxi driver once had. Everything Taxi drivers ever had and fought for – a living wage; some job security; transparent dealings with regulators and customers; and traffic congestion that is at least
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Gladki Planning Associates “Vehicle for Hire Public and Stakeholder Consultation and Summary” is available to read as a attachment to EX19.4 – 2024 Review of the Vehicle-for-Hire By-Law and Industry on Toronto’s website. The Vehicle for Hire review will be
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A.I.-driven pricing and pay is bad for drivers and customers With the release of its December 2024 report on “algorithmic pay,” the Rideshare Drivers Association of Ontario makes three recommendations: Introduction to the Rideshare Drivers’ Association of Ontario December, 2024
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I dragged myself to the Committee meeting room and took my seat in the row of speakers. Everyone was there for the same reason: to ask for funds for their program from the limited Tourism budget. My group, Taxis on Patrol, was asking for $7,000 to help fund an annual program which presented awards to cab drivers that had helped improve safety on Toronto streets. It also had a strong impact on improving the often-tenuous relationships between the cab industry, the city, and police.
My favourite Taxis on Patrol (“TOPS”) story was of a driver who saw a woman being beaten by a man on the street. He swerved to the curb and threw open his front door: the woman jumped in, he auto-locked the doors and just kept driving.
In our most famous file, a driver had a mother in the back seat whose fevered baby had gone into convulsions. The driver contacted dispatch who contacted 911 who walked the driver through every step to restore the baby to consciousness – we actually got permission to release the dramatic 911 tape of that event, and when it was played for Metro Council, several of the councillors were crying at the end of it. The baby lived.
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Ensure eternal angst by freezing the number exactly where it is Let’s be real: 85,000 VFH represents no ‘cap’ at all; it’s just a language game…You could permit 500,000 or a million licenses and call that a ‘cap,’ too, if
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