MONTREAL — A Superior Court judge has ordered the Quebec government to pay more than $144 million to several thousand former taxi permit holders in the province.
Taxi drivers launched a class-action lawsuit against the government in connection with the arrival of ride-hailing company Uber, which drove down the value of their permits. She said the total loss to permit holders was $144 million — the difference between the government's initial compensation package in 2019 and the value of the permits.
Bruce Johnston, a lawyer representing the cab drivers, called the ruling "historic." But he claimed that the loss of value in the permits amounted to much more than what the government gave in compensation to the drivers — and more than what the judge awarded.Before the 2019 taxi reform, each cab in the province required a permit.