After a lengthy debate at its meeting Monday, city council voted to make a priority of addressing violence against women in Whitehorse taxis.

While there was unanimous support for addressing violence, council was somewhat divided in the approach.

The city is reviewing its Vehicle for Hire Bylaw and potential amendments to it.

It was decided that council direct administration to focus on passenger and women’s safety, then move on to look at other matters, such as ensuring taxis are mechanically sound and clean and presentable.

“We need to focus on women’s safety first,” Coun. Michelle Friesen insisted.

Once the work of ensuring women feel safe in local taxis is done, she said, the focus can turn to fleet safety and vehicle appearance.

“Taxi passenger safety has been reported on extensively in the media and in January 2022, the Yukon Women’s Coalition released their Taxi Safety Report based on a survey of 174 respondents, including 160 identifying as women, and approximately 50 that identified as Indigenous,” says the administratve report prepared for council.

“The report highlighted negative experiences and perceptions of the taxi industry and provided a number of specific recommendations to the City and to Bylaw Services specifically.

“The committee extensively discussed the proposed approach to potentially develop bylaw amendments to address taxi and passenger safety, including fleet requirements.”

Council was presented with a letter from the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce. It indicated the chamber and its 500 members are willing to assist the city with preparing amendments to the Vehicle For Hire Bylaw.

The chamber does have concerns with women’s safety but also would like to discuss vehicle appearance and taxi service, particularly for tourism.

Coun. Friesen and others said the focus first of all has to be on women’s security.

“The focus should be on women feeling safe, and then we can focus on vehicle safety,” she said.

“Violence against women is violence against our community.”

Friesen noted the Kwanlin Dun First Nation and the Ta’an Kwach’an Council have expressed concerns about the safety of women in Whitehorse taxis.

Indigenous women, she said, are facing a much higher rate of discrimination and assault related to taxis.

Friesen said recommendations contained in the Taxi Safety Report are described in the report of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

Mayor Laura Cabott suggested a broad approach to the bylaw review, so that addressing violence against women can be done at the same time as other work on the bylaw.

Cabott said she understands the seriousness of violence against women in taxis, but added there are other issues to be addressed as well that should be part of the bylaw review.

Council is charged with working in behalf of all city residents, she said.

Coun. Kirk Cameron said he was afraid splitting the bylaw review into women’s safety and then other matters might delay addressing those other matters for a couple of years.

Coun. Dan Boyd was in agreement with the mayor’s approach.

The bylaw review, he said, should be looked at holistically rather than focus on one aspect.

Coun. Jocelyn Curtaneau, on the other hand, was in the camp emphasizing the issue of women’s safety needs to be the priority.

First and foremost, she said, should be mitigating risks in our taxis.

Then the focus could turn to fleet safety and appearance, Curtaneau said.