An Ottawa taxi driver has been fired from his job after a profanity-laced, racist rant was captured on video.
The video, taken in front of the Rideau Centre Wednesday afternoon, shows a driver arguing with a security guard and fellow-cabbies after he was asked to move to make room for an incoming ambulance.
At one point he levels a racial slur at the security guard, who is black.
Other drivers, and the taxi drivers’ union, have condemned the incident. “We don’t tolerate what happened,” says Hassan Karam. “We’re completely opposed to this kind of behaviour and this act.”
Hanif Patni, CEO of Coventry Connections, which runs several taxi lines in the city, immediately suspended the driver after seeing the video. He announced the driver’s termination on Thursday.
That video follows one released the week prior that shows another taxi driver ranting at a city bylaw officer . He was charged with a taxi bylaw infraction.
At one point the driver is heard yelling “You go fight Uber. Why won’t you go fight Uber for that?”
And that might provide a clue to what caused these cab drivers to reach the boiling point. The city and its drivers have been at odds with the ride-sharing service since it arrived in Ottawa, claiming it represents unfair and illegal competition. Licensed drivers who pay thousands in fees and insurance are losing business to the cheaper upstart.
“I certainly see a great deal of concern, a lot of frustration on the part of the drivers,” says Patni.
“The law is sometimes being imposed too much on us,” says union head, Amrik Singh. “And I think this situation comes out of frustration.”
