Taxi drivers to circle ACC as part of All-Star weekend Uber protest

Toronto , Taxi drivers will stage a protest against Uber on Friday as NBA All-Star festivities get underway at the Air Canada Centre.
According to a representative for the newly formed United Taxi Workers Association of the GTA, the protest will begin during the afternoon rush hour and will see drivers move in a procession southbound on Highway 427 and then eastbound along the Gardiner Expressway to the York/Bay exit. At that point, the drivers will proceed to circle the Air Canada Centre for an undetermined period of time.
The planned protest will take place on a busy night in the city with the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game tipping off at Ricoh Coliseum at 7 p.m. and the Rising Stars Challenge taking place at a sold-out Air Canada Centre at 9 p.m.

It is also conceivable that the protest will continue into the weekend, when more all-star events are planned.
Speaking about the rumoured protest earlier this week, Mayor John Tory urged drivers to avoid disrupting the city and instead to wait for new regulations that are expected to place restrictions on Uber drivers and level the field for conventional taxi companies.
“I am trying to move this forward in a responsible and practical manner as quickly as possible and I am sorry that it is taking as long as it is but that is the reality of the legislative process,” he said.
Organizer Paul Sekhon has previously said that this weekend’s protest will attract thousands of drivers.
A similar protest in December slowed or stopped traffic around Queen’s Park, Toronto City Hall and on the Don Valley Parkway and the QEW/Gardiner Expressway, and was only halted after Police Chief Mark Saunders agreed to meet with the drivers.
Representatives from the taxi industry are expected to speak with reporters about the planned protest at 1 p.m.