Newly named Quebec Transport Minister Laurent Lessard is already under fire, as the opposition demands to know where negotiations stand with ridesharing app Uber.
On Tuesday morning, Coalition Avenir Quebec parliamentary leader Francois Bonnardel said he is worried about the government’s silence on talks with the company.
“We hope that Mr. Lessard will give us some answers -- his position concerning Uber and the fact that Uber can be able to take place in Quebec with the taxi industry,” he said.
“What we want is for the pilot project to respect Quebec laws,” said Lessard.
Uber was on the agenda at a meeting with Quebec City Mayor Regis Labeaume. Labeaume says Quebec City taxi drivers didn't hold up their end of the bargain with the city, after signing a contract in May.
Hundreds of concertgoers were stuck at the Videotron Centre after Celine Dion's concert on Saturday night, because there weren't enough taxis on standby, leaving people waiting for up to 45 minutes.
“There's been a breach on Saturday night. We had a problem. It's, I would say, a responsibility for the mayor to make sure that transportation is there for everyone,” he said.
Labeaume is now open to Uber under certain conditions.
“That would be a legal Uber, an Uber which would be a very good corporate citizen meaning that it would pay its taxes in this province, in this country,” he said.
Abdallah Homsy, spokesperson for Quebec City taxi drivers group CPCDIT said there shouldn't be a two-tiered system.
“They have to pay for a licence plate like us. They have to pay TPS/TVQ and they have to (train) or study to have the same thing as taxi drivers,” he said.
In early June, the government passed a law giving it until Sept. 8 to establish a pilot project with Uber that would allow the company to maintain operations in the province after months of complaints from Quebec’s taxi industry.
The CAQ sided with Uber in the conflict, saying the province must be open to new technologies.
Lessard was named transport minister on Friday following the resignation of Jacques Daoust.
Lessard will have separate meetings with representatives from the taxi industry and Uber next week.
With files from The Canadian Press