Protesting Taxi Drivers Have Shut Down Streets In Downtown Montreal

On April 5th taxi drivers from around the province protested against a new legislation, bill 17.

Bill 17 takes away regulation from the taxi industry, which mean that taxis would operate like other ride sharing applications( Uber etc...)
But the way taxis operate right now is very different. Taxi drivers have to go through school and training, and must hold a permit to carry passengers.
The permits can cost anywhere around $100,000 and upwards.
Bill 17 would make it so drivers could start working and driving paying customers with out any special training or permits. This means that taxi driver would lose hundreds of thousands of dollars on a permit they already bought.
The government offered a $500 million dollar compensation but the taxi drivers won’t have it, they will only settle for the full worth of the permits which is around $1.3 billion.

Article: https://www.mtlblog.com/news/montreal/video-of-montreal-taxi-drivers-abandoning-their-cars-in-the-streets-and-blocking-stm-buses