Whitehorse city council will review its vehicle-for-hire bylaw.
The bylaw was rewritten in 2015, but local women’s groups approached council in December after Whitehorse cab driver Jaspal Singh Tamber was charged in the fall with two counts of sexual assault and one count of kidnapping.
In reviewing the bylaw, Coun. Betty Irwin encouraged council on Jan. 29 to also consider cab drivers.
“I was reading over some of these recommendations and I would caution administration because it does seem that some of the proposed amendments to the bylaw are somewhat draconian,” she said. One of the suggestions includes GPS-enabled cameras that can’t be tuned off while the cab is running.
She said passenger safety is important, but she doesn’t want to impose so many rules that it becomes impossible for drivers to operate or make a decent living.
Samson Hartland said he takes a different tack on the issue.
“What’s difficult to reconcile is this is not the first time that we’ve heard of these things,” said Hartland, referencing the safety issues raised recently.
“At this point I’m actually pleased and I want to commend administration on taking more of a proactive role.”
Contact Amy Kenny at amy.kenny@yukon-news.com