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Tow truck drivers are fuming about plans to bar them “chasing” customers at crash scenes, with one owner calling the move “anti-small business” and vow to pack the gallery at a public meeting at city hall.

City politicians are set to debate a new business bylaw that would require tow truck operators to be licensed. Part of that bylaw also would require tow crews to stay at least 200 metres from any collision, unless called by a customer.

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It’s the second element of the proposal that has Desmond Williams, owner of 519Tow, smarting.

“They’re trying to kick us out, they’re trying to squeeze out the small guy. I don’t think it’s beneficial, either, for the city . . . it’s a hazard to public safety to have the cars (in a crash) sit around on the road,” Williams said.

“If they do that bylaw exactly how they wrote it . . . It’s anti-small business.”

Part of the beef is a hefty police contract that means officers exclusively call Ross’ Towing for cleanup at the scene of a crash, including when drivers are taken to hospital or otherwise unavailable.