Toronto’s Municipal Licensing and Standards Committee begins debate on the proposed new rules governing Uber and the city’s taxi industry today.

Mayor John Tory is appealing to members to pass the bylaw so it can then go to full council for consideration.   Tory says it would be irresponsible of the committee to kill the bylaw before its gets to council for a proper and  balanced discussion.

The city’s taxi industry and ride sharing firm Uber have been at odds over how City Hall should deal with the new technology. Last week, city staff proposed more than 100 new recommendations to provide balance to both sides.  The new bylaw would eliminate mandated taxi driver training and would rely on Uber to monitor its own criminal background checks for drivers. Taxi drivers would get a  17% reduction in licensing fees while Uber and other similar ride shares would be subjected to a one-time $20,000 fee, a $10.00 per driver annual licensing fee and a 20-cent fee per trip.