Ottawa taxi drivers welcome Uber class-action lawsuit

Ottawa taxi drivers are welcoming news of aclass-action lawsuit filed against the app-based ride-sharing serviceUber on behalf of all cab and limo drivers and owners in Ontario.

A Windsor-based law firm filed the lawsuit with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice Thursday,asking for$410 million in damages andan injunction to stop Uber from operating in the province.

The lawsuit allegesUberviolated parts of the Highway Traffic Act by offeringservices in which drivers use their own cars orSUVsto transport passengers,causing the plaintiff and others in the taxi industry to suffer damages.

After more than 30 years in the business, cab driver Ahmed Khandid is happy to support the lawsuit.

"We were supposed to do this 10 months ago rather than now, but it's never too late," he said.

The union representing licensed taxi drivers in Ottawa has been considering legal action against Uber for months, said Amrik Singh, head of Unifor Local 1688.

"Uber doesn't follow any bylaws, so we think we are being penalized just for obeying the laws," Singh said. "And they should pay the price for that."

'I can tell you that drivers are suffering'

But Hanif Patni, president and CEO of Coventry Connections, isn't optimistic the lawsuit will help his drivers.

"I think we need something to help the drivers immediately," he told CBC Ottawa. "It's the responsibility of the politicians and the police to make sure this level of enforcement is in place."

Patni added that cabdrivers are not opposing Uber because of the competition the company poses to the taxiindustry.

"We don't mindUberdisrupting us if they're paying the HST, if they're paying the appropriate insurance, if they're getting the correct licenses and paying the cities and provinces the appropriate license fees. They don't do any of that," he said.

"I can tell you that drivers are suffering. Uber gets away with everything when it comes to not abiding by the law."

In an email, Uber Canada spokesperson Susie Heath called the lawsuit "protectionist" and "without merit."

"Uber is operating legally and is a business model distinct from traditional taxi services," she said.

An Ontariojudge recently ruled inUber'sfavour in a case in which theCity of Toronto alleged the ride-sharing company was violating municipalbylaws.Superior Court Judge SeanDunphyruled earlier this month there was "no evidence"Uberis operating as a taxi broker or that it breached Toronto city bylaws.

Ubermaintains a presence in Ottawa, Toronto, Edmonton, Montreal, Quebec City and Halifax. It was forced to shut up shop after brief sojourns in Vancouver and Calgary, and began offering its services in London, Hamilton, Waterloo and GuelphThursday.