Diamond Taxi Veteran Driver Stories

Diamond Taxi Veteran Driver Stories

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Preserve our Québec-Charter-of-Human-Rights-and-Freedoms

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Preserve our Québec-Charter-of-Human-Rights-and-Freedoms

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75SPijDmhUc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ViHsc9CjUI

CBC-Radio1 (Toronto) Live-Interview

http://www.cbc.ca/radioshows/AS_IT_HAPPENS/20080507.shtml

Listen to Part 3 of As It Happens

Starting-Point @ 13:55

End-Point @ 21:30 

Live-Interview with CBC-Radio1 (Toronto) With Host Carol

Cabbie lost faith in system contests fines

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Montreal Cabbie Files Human Rights Complaint Over Religious Items

Today’s Montreal Gazette reports that Montreal cabbie Arieh Perecowicz has filed a complaint with the Quebec Human Rights Commission challenging a Montreal Taxi Bureau bylaw that bans any “object or inscription that is not required for the taxi to be in service.” Perecowicz, who is Jewish, has two mezuzahs embedded in the posts between the front and rear seats of his cab. He also has photos of his daughter and the founder of the Chabad Lubavitch movement as well as a Remembrance Day poppy in the taxi. His complaint asks for $5,000 in damages, alleging that the Montreal bylaw infringes his freedom of expression as guaranteed by the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. Next month, Perecowicz will ask a Montreal municipal court judge to postpone ruling on his four citations– each fining him $191– for violating the Taxi Bureau bylaw until the Human Rights Commission rules in his case. Perecowicz suggests that the fines are related to his appearance on television with other drivers complaining that the Taxi Bureau was not enforcing its rules against unlicensed cabs.

Cabbie lost faith in system contests fines

Irwin Block, Montreal Gazette

Published: Wednesday, May 07

Montreal – A veteran Montreal cabbie who’s been fined a total of $764 for having photos of his daughter and the founder of the Chabad Lubavitch movement, two mezuzahs and a remembrance poppy in his car is going to court with a special request.

On June 9, Arieh Perecowicz will ask a Montreal Municipal Court judge to delay a ruling on his four tickets until the Quebec Human Rights Commission examines his complaint.

He is seeking $5,000 from the city of Montreal for a “discriminatory and unlawful” bylaw, saying it infringes on his freedom of expression, which is guaranteed in the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.

Perecowicz, who has been driving a taxi for 42 years, has been fined four times, at $191 a crack, by Montreal Taxi Bureau inspectors under Section 98 of the bylaw, which bans any “object or inscription that is not required for the taxi to be in service.”

He also questions the bureau’s motives, since the first fine, on Dec. 19, 2006, came days after he and other drivers went on local television stations to complain that the taxi bureau was not acting to curtail unlicensed cabs.

The taxi bureau did not respond to numerous requests for comment yesterday.

The bylaw was passed in June 2003, and Perecowicz says none of the roughly 40 drivers fined under this section were singled out for having family pictures or religious icons.

“The objects in my vehicle do not in any way diminish the rights of any passenger and do not interfere with the proper operation of my taxi,” he wrote to the human rights commission.

He says he has never had a complaint from any passenger.

Though he is not a religious person, he insists the small mezuzahs, embedded discreetly in the posts between front and rear seats, are there as a charm, along with a prayer for safety.

(Traditional Jews affix a mezuzah, containing a parchment with several prayers, in the doorway of their house, and in some cases beside every door.)

Perecowicz wrote to the rights commission that the photos, mezuzahs, and poppy “are integral to my identity both as a Jew, a father, and proud supporter of our Canadian veterans.”

Told about the fines, Rabbi Itchey Treitel, director of the Lubavitch-run Montreal Torah Centre, asked: “What, these guys have nothing better to do?”

Treitel said it is not unusual for a Jew to have a mezuzah in a car or even a private jet.

“It’s been an item of protection from days of old.”

Although not that common in cars, it can be seen by observant Jews as “a form of guidance and strength.”

“Some people keep it in the glove compartment; some will hang it near the door. I’ve seen it many times.”

Gregory Sitaras, president of Champlain Taxis, which has many drivers of Greek origin, noted that many have beads hanging from a mirror or small crucifixes on dashboards.

“Everybody has something like that, but it has to be small.”

Told about Perecowicz’s fines, Sitaras said: “I don’t know of anybody that got a fine because of that.

“The Bureau de Taxi should be looking for drivers who have no permits rather than mezuzahs. I would never punish a driver for that.”

In fact, he said taxi companies are pressuring the city to allow in-cab advertising, which would require an amendment to existing bylaws.

Nicole Marchand, secretary for Amicale Plus, which employs many drivers of Haitian origin, said many have a small Haitian flag or crucifix in their car.

Told about the fines issued to Perecowicz, she laughed.

“It’s stupid,” Marchand said.