Attention: Standing Committees of Council - Appeals

CC:

Matt Whitman, Chair & Councillor, District 13 - Hammond's Plains & St. Margarets Bay

Stephen Adams, Vice-Chair & Councillor, District 11 - Spryfield, Sambro Loop & Prospect Road

Halifax Regional Council

Waye Mason, Councillor, District 7 - Halifax South Downtown

Russell Walker, Councillor, District 10 - Halifax, Bedford Basin West

The Nova Scotia Legislature

Brendan O. Maguire, MLA, District 25 - Halifax, Atlantic

Kelly Regan, MLA, District 04 - Bedford

On May 23, 2015 after 1 am, a constable of Halifax Regional Police force was on patrol and observed a taxi with suspicious activity going on inside. Upon investigation, she observed a young, intoxicated female in the back seat unclothed from the waist down and the driver struggling in the front seat to conceal the girl's clothing while attempting to fasten his own pants. The driver was charged with sexual assault. It was also discovered that this was the third allegation against him. As a result, his taxi license was suspended and he was let go from his employer.

The female was taken to hospital and given a sexual assault examination. Essentially, this woman was raped and the cab driver is out on bail. Yet again another injustice in our society.

The Halifax Standing Committees of Council Appeals ruled on August 5th, 2015 that the cab driver, named Bassam Aladin Al-Rawi had his taxi license reinstated under two conditions:

that he operate between the hours of six am to six pm, and that he has a camera installed in his vehicle.

Al-Rawi will be able to obstruct the video view, turn off the camera at any point, and video footage could very well restart every so often (due to either technical difficulties, or by default). It is unclear if any footage would even be reviewed by anyone of authority. Because of this, Al-Rawi will be able to break curfew easily and could very likely re-offend or breach his conditions.

Contrary to what Al-Rawi's lawyer says, this does not instill public confidence of safety while travelling. According to Al-Rawi's former employer, Bob's Taxi, this individual is not permitted to work for the company until he is found innocent. However, this is just not good enough.

Bassam Aladin Al-Rawi wants to feed his family with a valid taxi driver's license. We believe that he should not be allowed to work in a public setting that allows for such closed personal quarters and that Al-Rawi should have his license taken away from him again. Should Al-Rawi be allowed to continue to work, it should be in an area in which he is closely supervised in person. His behaviour in his current occupation is not only irresponsible but also unprofessional, and shows a total abuse of power, being a taxi driver.

This petition is a first step in the right direction, and we, the undersigned, want stricter laws in place for sexual offenders and verdicts in a more timely fashion.

We the undersigned support sexual assault groups in helping to clean up our streets and take back what's rightfully ours - our bodies, our dignity, our streets and our freedom.

Sincerely,

The citizens of Halifax, & all of Nova Scotia.