Ride service Uber is threatening to leave Toronto if the city passes new transportation regulations early next month, a move it says will leave 15,000 full-time and part-time drivers out of work. The company sent a letter to its Toronto users this week, making it clear it plans to shut down in the city if council passes proposed new transportation regulations. “Last week, the Licensing and Standards Committee voted to force Uber out of Toronto,” the letter begins. “If City Council votes the same way on May 3, Toronto will lose ridesharing (uberX) and the benefits that come with it.”

A screen capture of the top of Uber's letter to Toronto drivers. Uber’s threats are often not idle. It suspended operations in Edmonton earlier this year, after the province failed to come through in time with promised insurance for ride services. The company decided not to return to Calgary earlier this year after the city passed new regulations meant to legalize the service, but which Uber said made it impossible to do business. What looked initially like an attempt by Toronto to legalize Uber turned into the opposite last week. City staff had recommended dozens of changes to city bylaws that would normalize Uber’s legal status, but the licensing and standards committee — seen to be friendly to the taxi industry — gutted those rules last week, effectively leaving Uber and other ride-sharing services outside the law. The taxi industry had objected to the new rules, as did Uber, even before the Uber-friendly parts were removed. Uber objected to rules such as a proposed ban on cars older than seven years, and to a one-time $20,000 licensing fee.