Another allegation of racial profiling against a City Cab driver emerges

Another woman claims adriver for Yellowknife taxi company City Cab asked her to pay first before getting a ride, and was treated to a racial slur when she said no.

On Oct. 23, Jennifer Lafferty says she ordered a taxi so she could attend an appointment in town.

She says the driver told her he wanted a cash deposit. After she told the cab driver she had a bank card and wouldn't be paying with cash, she saysthe driver then told her to get out of the cab, saying, "you guys are all the same."

Lafferty, a Tlicho woman, took this as a racial slur.

Lafferty said sheand the cab driver had a heated exchange of words and she slammed the taxi's door as she left.

Shortly after that, Lafferty called City Cab dispatch to order another cab and reported the incident. When she reported the incident to a dispatcher, she said the dispatcher was apologetic, but was told that it happened because of where she lived.

Lafferty lives in the west end of the city in a neighbourhood between St. Joseph's School and the Fieldhouse.

"Their reasoning was [it was] where I resided," she said."My residence impacted his behavior, so they said, and they called me a new taxi, and that was it from them. Not much resolution."

Since the incident, Lafferty says she's called the cab company to find out if anything has come from her complaint, "and they weren't even aware of a report, so I don't really think anything is documented."

City Cab responds

With regard to payment first or deposits on rides, City Cab told CBC its drivers, who are independent contractors, are operating on advice from Yellowknife RCMP.

"The RCMP have actually advised us to ask for a deposit or payment up front if the driver feels there is a possibility he won't be paid," said Shirley McGrath, City Cab office manager.

McGrath said drivers are expected to use their own judgment when it comes asking for pre-payment, but said the company does not condone any kind of racial profiling.

"I'm disturbed that any of our drivers would treat any person in that regard," she said.

McGrath said no complaint about Lafferty's experience had reached her desk so she could not comment on it, but did say that the driver involved in a previous incident of alleged racial discrimination has been disciplined.

• Woman says cab driver told her to pay before ride, cursed her when she refused

McGrath said some of the company's drivers experience racial insults thrown against them as well.

"They themselves are often subject to some pretty harsh treatment," she said.

Going forward,McGrath said the company's board of directors would need to meet to evaluate the situation.

A spokesperson for Yellowknife RCMP stated in an email to CBC thatit "did not provide any official direction to City Cabs on how to operate their businesses," but added it's possible a "driver was told something in response to a specific complaint by one of our members," while responding to a complaint from a driver about unpaid fares.

City of Yellowknife bylaws state that cab drivers are prohibited from using "abusive, insulting or profane language." They are also prohibited from refusing "to convey within the city any orderly persons upon request."

McGrathsaid the company interprets the bylaw prohibiting denial of serviceto allow a request for pre-payment. As for complaints of abusive or insulting language, she said the company handles those complaints internally.

But the City of Yellowknife has a role to play when it comes to enforcing city bylaws governing taxi services.

"The city would have a role to play in this incident if the driver refused to drive her or used abusive, insulting, or profane language," a city spokesperson stated in an email.

"In this case a complaint was not made to municipal enforcement. We get very few complaints of this nature. The manager of municipal enforcement does not recall the last time the city received a complaint of this nature.

"Most people contact the taxi company to deal with a complaint."

'Nobody should be treated this way'

This allegation of racial profiling comes to light after a recent CBC story of a Yellowknife woman who says she too was asked to pay upfront and believed it was because because she's Indigenous.

Lafferty says she and her family moved to Yellowknife from Toronto 10 years ago, and this is the first time in her life that she's "experienced this type of stereotype."

Donald White, who is the father of Lafferty's three children, said he arrived home and witnessed the tail end of the episode. He approached the taxi but the driver was already driving away. He said Lafferty was clearly upset.

"I think this person should have some type of repercussion happen to him you know? Put him on suspension or something," White said.

"They are there to provide you a service, and you give them your money but they need to have a common courtesy towards everyone."

Lafferty says she has a couple of other friends who have faced similar situations, and hopes the City is becoming more aware of these types of experiences.

"It's just unfortunate and I don't want my children to deal with this when they are older, being of Aboriginal descent," she said.

"Nobody should be treated this way."