Wajid Ali's last phone conversation with his brother seemed perfectly routine, like any other Friday chat.

Ali and his brother, 34-year-old Muhammad Umar, are both cab drivers. Ali said his brother had just dealt with an airport call and was about to head to what he described as a good part of town in broad daylight.

Less than an hour later, his brother was in the emergency room in critical condition, having been stabbed multiple times. The 2012 Dodge Caravan taxi he had been driving was reported stolen.

"Just a few minutes later you get a call that something is wrong," he said. "Everything was going normal and good until all of sudden things changed unexpectedly."

Muhammad Umar is a 34-year-old cab driver in Regina, who was stabbed multiple times on Friday, with his cab then stolen. He is currently in critical condition and is hooked up to a ventilator, according to his brother Wajid Ali. (Submitted photo)

'It's kind of scary'

Ali doubted that Umar would survive. Umar was slashed in the throat and suffered damage to his liver, stomach diaphragm, neck and upper leg, according to Ali.

You don't expect somebody's going to try and kill you. - Wajid Ali, taxi driver

But on Wednesday, Ali said Umar was stable, although he remained in critical condition and hooked up to a ventilator.

Ali said the incident devastated Umar's family. Umar is married and a father to four children, all younger than 10 years old.

"He's a proud father. He's a family man," Ali said, adding the kids have been asking to see their dad, but they can't.

Cab driver Muhammad Umar was taken to hospital after being stabbed on the 2900 block of Parliament Avenue. (SRC) "You can't take them in ICU. He's got so much stuff in his mouth, so it's kind of scary."

Ali has driven a cab for about ten years and said he and his brother had conversations about risks involved. However, they usually revolved around robbery.

"You don't expect somebody's going to try and kill you."

His brother began driving a cab about two years ago, Ali said. Umar had previously worked as a drywaller and taper in Regina, but Ali said he was laid off and couldn't find another job in that field.

Ali said his brother remains in a lot of physical pain and is on a lot of medications.

It might take months for the physical wounds to heal and even longer to address the mental trauma, Ali said.

"He's pretty traumatized and scared."

Similarities to 2016 stabbing

The United Steelworkers Union, which represents cab drivers in the province, has started a GoFundMe page for Umar.

"This is every family's worst nightmare. We are currently fighting for WCB coverage for Muhammad," the description reads.

In the press release, the union said the attack serves as a reminder of what happened to taxi driver Iqbal Singh Sharma in November 2016.

He, too, was stabbed multiple times and taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries to his brain and neck. The union said the attack left him as a paraplegic and altered his life forever.

"These two attacks are sadly just examples of the dangers that taxi drivers face every shift, as physical and verbal attacks are all too common," the union said in the press release.

The union has invited the public to attend a community forum on taxi worker safety on April 22 at Regina's Turvey Centre and is calling on municipal and provincial governments to take action.