As this editorial was being written, Surrey taxpayers were mired in a deep jungle darkness concerning the costs associated to Mayor Doug McCallum’s quixotic tilt with Uber, over the ride-hailing company’s right do business here.
We hope that by the time this print edition of the Now-Leader hits your doorstep or mailbox, light will have been shed on how many Uber drivers were ticketed, and if those tickets will be forgiven in light of a B.C. Supreme Court judge’s decision in favour of Uber’s petition to compel the city to cease issuing them.
Moreover, we hope it has been revealed how much in taxpayer-funded resources were gobbled up by the bylaw enforcement department’s campaign to pick on Uber drivers, and how much in lawyers’ bills and court costs Surrey residents are on the hook for as a result of the city’s pursuit of this metaphoric white whale.
Again, we hope these questions have been answered after this ink has dried. One should always approach things with a glass-half-full attitude.
But in the event that hell hasn’t frozen over, and answers still haven’t flowed free and proper from city hall, we’ll hazard stretching our necks out to push the argument.
READ ALSO: Surrey stops fining Uber drivers, McCallum says ‘time to move on’
In the heat of battle, the Safe Surrey Coalition posted this on social media on Feb. 1: “Mayor Doug McCallum is the only elected official in ALL of North America who has single handily (sic) achieved a level playing field between the taxi industry and ride sharing industry.”
In our view, however, under McCallum’s administration the City of Surrey has lost an unnecessary court case, leaving Surrey taxpayers with the bill.
Within minutes of losing that case Friday, the city issued a press statement in which McCallum stated, untriumphantly, that it’s “Time to move on.”
Time to move on?
Not likely. Once important questions are answered for Surrey taxpayers, maybe then.
But definitely not until.
– Now-Leader
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