Toronto Mayor John Tory will not call Uber’s chief executive a “dick,” as Calgary’s mayor did on video, even though he doesn’t like the way the ride-hailing service barged into the market.

“I would never use those words,” Tory said Monday to a reporter who asked if he shared the views of Calgary’s Naheed Nenshi, who has since apologized for his off-colour description of Travis Kalanick.

Calgary’s mayor also said of Uber staff, in remarks livestreamed by a Boston cabbie during Nenshi’s recent trip there: “They are honestly the worst people in the world. I have never dealt with people like this before.”

Tory, a former Rogers chief executive, said: “I have expressed some regret about the fact that (Uber) entered the marketplace in a way that is not the best.”

If the California-based company had worked with the city, rather than just setting up shop connecting private vehicle owners to passengers, changes would still be happening, “minus a lot of the very difficult and acrimonious chapters,” Tory said.

“But it’s history, and Mayor Nenshi has his way of articulating his concerns about that and I have mine,” Tory said, adding the city’s job with Uber now is “to accommodate their continued presence here” in a regulated framework that ensures public safety while treating the taxi industry fairly.

It’s unclear, though, if a majority of Toronto councillors agree with Tory’s diplomatic approach or assessment.

The mayor’s office is intensely lobbying them to next week approve city staff-proposed regulations that would legalize ride-hailing services with a set of rules, and rights, different than those for taxis.

Several councillors have told the Star that Tory aides are signalling a willingness to make multiple changes but do not, a week before the debate, appear to have a convincing majority pledging to vote for the new rules.

Calgary’s council, meanwhile, referred Nenshi’s comments to that city’s integrity commissioner for review.

That “was me being a bit of a jerk and I am sorry for that,” Nenshi told reporters. “I never swear and that's probably the rudest word I've ever said ... It wasn't nice and it wasn't civil.”

With files from The Canadian Press

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