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Guelph Taxi Inc. loses injunction bid to get back on the road

Company trying to get its licence reinstated after having it revoked last September for by-law violations
Taxi generic 2016
File photo.

A Guelph taxi company that lost its licence last year has also lost its bid to have an injunction put in place that would have allowed it to resume operating.

Guelph Taxi Inc. is in the process of seeking a judicial review of the decision by Guelph's Chief of Police to revoke their licence last September. Until a decision on that judicial review comes down in October, the compnay was seeking an interim injunction that would have allowed it to resume operating immediately.

But Ontario Superior Court Justice Jamie Trimble rejected their application and the fledgling company must stay off the road.

"Evidence shows that Guelph Taxi was a struggling and declining company in the two years before revocation," Justice Trimble said in a written decision.

The company had gone from 10 drivers and a dispatcher to four drivers and a dispatcher and had only two vehicles on the road at the time it lost its licence, court documents state.

Trimble said the motion for an injunction was dismissed in part because Guelph Taxi did not show evidence and amount of lost revenue.He also said it took too long to file the injunction.

"How can (Guelph Taxi) argue that the decision of the (Guelph Police Services Board) caused irreparable harm" when it took so long to file for an injunction based on the fact it was losing business? the judge asked.

Guelph Taxi Inc. began operating in Guelph in 2013 and there were almost immediate complaints from the city's other two taxi companies - Red Top and Canadian Cab - that Guelph Taxi wasn't complying with the rules, namely 24-hour dispatch service and a storefront operating location.

Guelph Police Chief Jeff DeRuyter eventually revoked the company's licence after five by-law violations. The Guelph Police Services Board upheld DeRuyter's decision.

Court documents state that Guelph Taxi believes the police chief exceeded his jurisdiction in revoking the licence, the chief and the Police Services Board was biased and the chief acted in collusion with the other taxi companies.

Guelph Taxi also claims the decision to revoke their licence was retribution for a complaint it filed with the board about the police chief.

They also claim their charter equality rights were violated.

None of the accusations have been proven in court.

Because Guelph Taxi's motion was denied, they will be responsible for covering the city's legal costs.


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Tony Saxon

About the Author: Tony Saxon

Tony Saxon has had a rich and varied 30 year career as a journalist, an award winning correspondent, columnist, reporter, feature writer and photographer.
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