Quebec taxi drivers to stage rotating strikes this week

Taxi drivers will begin a rotating strike on Tuesday morning to express their dissatisfaction with Quebec Transport Minister François Bonnardel.

The strike will affect most regions of Quebec, with the exception of Montreal.

READ MORE: Hundreds of taxi drivers protest Bill 17 in Quebec City

The drivers want to put pressure on Bonnardel “to be responsive to our requests and the despair of taxi drivers,” said Serge Lebreux, spokesperson for the Association of Taxis of Quebec Regions (ATRQ).

Bonnardel is being “insensitive” and refuses to “move a comma,” Lebreux said in a telephone interview.

“We cannot make him listen to reason, even when it comes to the aspect of safety,” he said.

READ MORE: Quebec cabbies stage one-day strike

Taxi drivers will hold a strike from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Tuesday. This will affect the areas of Vaudreuil, Coteau-du-Lac, Valleyfield, Trois-Rivieres, Sept-Iles, Prévost, Saint-Lin, Chandler, Gaspé, Tremblant, Mont-Laurier, Matane, Sainte-Thérèse, Alma, Magog, Shawinigan, Drummondville and Saint-Elzéar.

During that time, only essential taxi services such as adapted and medical transportation will be ensured.

— With files from Global News’ Kalina Laframboise