Justice Minister David Lametti cited tow trucks as one of the essential services that the government could direct ‘to relieve impacts of blockades on Canada’s economy’
The tow-truck industry says the federal government will be met with resistance if it tries to use Emergencies Act powers to force operators to clear blockades and protest sites against their will.
Abrams has a fleet of roughly 20 tow trucks in Ottawa, where anti-vaccine mandate demonstrations have brought the downtown core to a standstill for close to three weeks. But Mr. Gagne says he has no intention of getting involved with the protest, because it’s not worth the safety risks. “It would be business suicide,” he said. “These are the trucking companies that call you for the work when they break down on the side of the road. You think … they’re ever going to call you again? You may as well just write your own ticket to shut your business down.”
It has been a turbulent few years for the towing industry, which in addition to the pandemic has also been under the spotlight for violence and corruption. A 2020 Globe and Mail investigation revealed that dozens of tow trucks were burned and at least four men with ties to the industry had been killed across the Greater Toronto Area, as companies competed for bigger slices of a lucrative segment of the industry known as collision towing or “accident chasing.
The City of Ottawa has said it has acquired access to some tow trucks owned by OC Transpo, the local public transit commission.
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