It looks as though Quebec's cabbies will be launching another round of protests, after they rejected Transport Minister François Bonnardel's latest attempt to make peace with them.
About three quarters of them rejected the Legault government's latest compensation offer for their permits, with cabbies saying the government continues to miss the point of their opposition to Bill 17, which would deregulate the taxi industry.
Two weeks ago, Bonnardel offered the cabbies more compensation money, in the form of a 90-cent surcharge for every taxi and Uber ride taken in Quebec over the next five to six years — which would bring the total compensation package from $500 million to somewhere around $750 million.
George Boussios, a spokesperson for Taxis du Grand Montréal, suggests the government is still trying to buy off the cabbies and bury their industry.
"He doesn't want to have anything to do with the taxi industry," he says. "He just wants anybody with a [Class] 5 licence, which is everybody in the city, all you have to do is download an app, and you can do what I'm doing right now."
Boussios suggests more protests may be in the offing soon; it's just a question of where, when, and exactly how — though Boussios insists they aren't interested in holding the public hostage.
"[Bonnardel] says we're holding the public hostage, but the fact is, once we do these demonstrations, that's when he reacts," Boussios says. "So in my opinion, he's the one that's holding the people hostage. Just negotiate in good faith, sit down with us, have an open mind, and not just enforce things on us."