There won't be any big holiday parties this year — and that's bad for business for local cab drivers.
Unifor Local 195 president Emile Nabbout says Christmas and New Year's Eve are usually two of the busiest nights of the year for Vets Cab drivers, but with current COVID-19 restrictions limiting indoor gatherings he's not expecting a whole lot of business.
He says this is the second year in a row COVID is going to hurt drivers.
"We were looking forward this year to have a better year for our Vets Cab drivers. Lots of restrictions with our government on the venues, on the parties, on a number of gatherings. That directly impacts the drivers and their families."
Nabbout says, over the past two years, his drivers have missed several busy nights like St. Patrick's Day and Halloween.
"They don't fall under many different programs in the government. They don't get the same level of support. They cannot collect E.I. It is very unfortunate for them and they've been hit many times throughout the last two years."
He says drivers depend on their fares to make a living.
"We really appreciate the community's support and we need our government to step up as well and assist our drivers because they cannot go on layoff," he continued. "They're like self working contractors so it is quite challenging for them."
Nabbout says, to make things worse, most drivers have spent money out of their own pockets to install plexi-glass barriers in their cabs as the costs are not eligible for government funding.
Unifor Local 195 represents about 380 Vets Cab drivers.