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Apparently the city of Toronto is looking at the possibility of
labeling couriers again. This would be Toronto’s fourth attempt at a
labeling system that the city refers to as “licensing”.
Currently Toronto does not have the authority to license couriers but
it appears as though at least one councilor sees this as such an
important issue that the city must act even before it is granted the
power.
It comes before the Toronto Planning and Transportation committee next
Tuesday, September 5, 2006.
The purpose is to "report on the feasibility of requiring professional
bicycle couriers to be licensed, and to display a plate on their
bicycles."
"It is recommended that once the City of Toronto Act comes into force,
the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards Division, in
consultation with the City Solicitor, be instructed re-examine the
feasibility of licensing bicycle couriers."
The Toronto Cycling Committee, will be commenting on the proposal and
they have recommended that, "should this issue be re-visited once the
City of Toronto Act is in force, the Executive Director, Municipal
Licensing and Standards Division be requested to consult with the
Toronto Cycling Committee and that a consultation process be developed
with bike couriers and the bike courier industry and associations."
The staff “report” can be found here:
http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/2006/agendas/committees/plt/plt060905/it018.pdf
The City of Toronto has studied the licensing of couriers in abundance.
Each and every time it has been dismissed as unnecessary and too
costly. It was studied at length in 1987, 1991 and 1997. It was raised
again in 1999 but much to the disappointment of Councillor
Lindsay-Lubin it went nowhere because Councillor Lubin was informed
that the city didn’t have the power to license couriers.
In 1992 even the Chief of Police
came out against licensing stating “from a policing perspective,
licensing as a means to enhance enforcement is ineffectual.” The main
problem with licensing is that it’s not licensing at all. It’s merely a
form of labeling and the police are required to infringe on all
cyclists rights to enforce the labeling system. Every cyclist who may
look like a courier may be stopped by police and inspected to determine
if they are a courier.
Idea of licensing
bicycle couriers gets mixed reaction - Globe and Mail, September 2,
2006
Here are some of the reports on licensing but Toronto may be more
spending tax dollars to create many more reports.
License
or Label
Potential
licensing of bicycle couriers in Toronto (1987) - Messville
Report
The TCCC's 1987
Report - This
report is about registering couriers as well as licensing all cyclists.
Sunwheel
Couriers Report (1989) - A courier
company's recomendations
The TCCC's 1991
Report - Includes
the TCCC recommendations to amend the draft by-law. Recommends delaying
licensing until more information available.
The Association
of Professional Urban
Cyclists'
(A.P.U.C.) 1991 submissions on licensing - bike
couriers'
views on the matter.
The Lawful and
the Awful (1991)
- workshops
on improving cyclists behavior and enforcement issues. No couriers
involved
in the workshops - so guess what they recomend, with no evidence.
Toronto's Draft
Law from 1991
- This
was never passed but any future law would probably start with this
draft.
Societe de
l'assurance automobile du
Quebec Report (1992) - This is the summary of
the report in English. It studied many cities and
recognized
the limitations of insufficient data.
The City of
Ottawa's Report from 1992
- The City decided against licensing messengers
The
Toronto City Cycling Committee's
(TCCC)
1992 Report - This is a report on licensing
all cyclists
in Toronto and couriers. It comes out against licensing.
Metro Toronto
Police Comments on
Licensing
Couriers (1992)
Toronto
City Councillor Steve Ellis' 1997
Comments on those evil enemies of the people.
He lost
his seat
in the very next election.
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