Representatives from Steinbach Taxi have asked city council to create a bylaw to regulate the vehicle-for-hire business in the city. Company President Paul Jauhal appeared before council Tuesday. He notes that as of February 28th, the province is handing off regulation of the industry to municipalities. He says a bylaw would regulate the industry but would also protect the value of a taxi license.

City council was leery of the request. Councillor Michael Zwaagstra says the province does not require municipalities outside of Winnipeg to have a vehicle-for-hire bylaw and suggests Steinbach Taxi may have another motive in seeking a bylaw.

"It's very unusual to have a single business come to us and ask us specifically to regulate them, particularly when we know that there are other companies that provide a similar service in the area that are not part of this request. I think we need to be very careful before even considering moving in such a direction. The reality is, is that competition is a good thing. We want to have as many services as possible available to people and I don't think council wants to be in the business of reducing the options available to the people of Steinbach."

Mayor Chris Goertzen agrees it's not up to city council to protect businesses from competition.

"There were significant dollars, obviously, paid for the licenses that were given out for taxi services. The system has changed now with the new government deregulation that has taken place. I think Steinbach Taxi would like to protect themselves and protect that value. At the same time, our responsibility as a city is to make sure we have a safe city and that we have businesses that are able to function freely with as little regulation as possible. So, how those two mesh together will be a big question for us as city council."

Zwaagstra adds council will be thorough in examining the request.

"We have to examine all the implications here. Ultimately, what is really important is making sure that we have an open business climate within the city. We want to have as many choices as possible available to people, we want people to be able to access a variety of services from a variety of companies and I don't want to do anything that reduces the options available to people in terms of rides within the city."

Mayor Goertzen says city council has asked the administration to prepare a report on this matter before it makes a decision on the request.