Quebec Liberal rank-and-file rankled by government's Uber bill

A bill seeking to crack down on ride-hailing services in Quebec has earned the governing Liberals a rebuke from members of their own party.

Liberal rank-and-file passed a motion by a wide margin at a party convention on Saturday that calls on the party to embrace the sharing economy, typified by companies such as Uber and Airbnb.  

The motion, which was tabled by the party's youth wing, is seen as a shot at a bill the government tabled earlier this week that will force UberX drivers to have a taxi permit.

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Critics of the bill worry it will force Uber, a popular ride-hailing service, to shut down its Quebec operation. They say the proposed regulations are out-of-step with how other jurisdictions allow the service to operate.  

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Liberal youth wing president, Jonathan Marleau, made headlines on Friday when he told reporters the party needed to "move closer to reality" with its policy towards the sharing economy. 

He said the government's Uber bill failed to reflect "Liberal values" of the free market. 

Marleau emerged somewhat chastened from a Saturday morning meeting with Premier Philippe Couillard and Transport Minister Jacques Daoust.

"I might have mistakenly opened a door," Marleau said after the meeting. "I think the final version of the law will reflect Liberal values 100 per cent."

But even with Marleau striking a more even-handed tone, the motion on the sharing economy still passed.

• Uber bill sparks tensions among rank-and-file Quebec Liberals

Heading into the convention another, smaller group of Liberals had threatened to try to unseat Daoust over their unhappiness with the Uber bill. 

"It was supported by [the Parti Québécois'] Martine Ouellet, [taxi industry spokesperson] Guy Chevrette and [Québec Solidaire's] Amir Khadir," said Jonathan Hamel, a former Roberval riding president who speaks for the pro-Uber group.

"That says a lot about the bill."

Like the pre-meeting Marleau, Hamel also believes the bill fails to adhere the party's free market principles by favouring the taxi industry over UberX drivers, who are considered independent contractors.

Though Hamel and Marleau can be counted among the party's younger members, others who supported the sharing-economy motion denied a generational divide was at play. 

"The party has taken a position that is opposed to its own principles," said Casper Bloom, a long-time Quebec Liberal member currently serving as the party's anglophone vice-president.  

"That's what bothers me. It's not part of the principles of the Liberal Party to be against the opening of competition to others and other innovative and technological advances."

But though the resolution passed, it looks unlikely to have much impact on the current version of the bill. 

"I'm not returning to the drawing board," Daoust told reporters. "It's been tabled. There will be hearings. There will be a clause-by-clause study of the bill over the coming weeks."   

But the government's Uber bill is not the only position that has rankled some rank-and-file. 

Members will also debate a resolution calling for the government to abandon its desire to create a long-gun registry.

Another motion calls on the premier to give up some of his power to appoint candidates.

Couillard is scheduled to close the convention with a speech on Sunday.