Judge gives the go-ahead to taxi drivers $215million class action lawsuit against the licensing of U

Taxi drivers in Ottawa Canada, have been given the go-ahead by a judge to proceed with a $215 million class action lawsuit against the city's decision to allow Uber to operate legally, claiming discrimination against traditional taxi drivers. The controversial app began operating in Ottawa in 2014. The city decided to amend it's taxi bylaw in September 2016, creating a new category of licence to assist and legalise Uber's very untraditional business model. A class action lawsuit was filed soon after by the parent company of Capital Taxi and Marc Andre way, whose family is the single largest owner of Ottawa taxi plates, according to reports in CBC news. The lawsuit claims the city is to be held responsible for losses they have occurred following the "unfair" legalisation of Uber. This particular lawsuit is the largest ever filed against the city. The lawsuit alleges, by amending the current law to assist Uber in obtaining a legal licence, the city has discriminated against taxi drivers. The plaintiffs also claim fees charged to them under the amended bylaw amount to illegal taxes. In response to the lawsuit, the city said it had no obligation to protect the taxi industry from financial losses.