'It's not right': Rallies organized to support Indigenous women after Winnipeg taxi drivers charged

A group of men organized rallies in Winnipeg this weekend to support Indigenous women and raise awareness after police charged two taxi drivers following violent encounters with their passengers.

On Saturday, a group of people gathered outside of Duffy's Taxi on Notre Dame Avenue, and on Sunday, another group walked from the Manitoba legislative grounds to Unicity Taxi on Hargrave Street.

One of the organizers, Jonathan Meikle, says he's lost track of how many times he's personally heard from a woman who's had a negative experience in a taxi.

"I've known the truths about these two organizations — Unicity and Duffy's — for a long time. I'm 32 years old and I've known since I was a teenager that our women are being mistreated. That our people are being mistreated, but more so our women," he said outside of Duffy's on Saturday.

"Our people know the truth of what's going on and it's not right. We desperately want something to be done about it."

The rallies follow two separate incidents where taxi drivers were charged by Winnipeg police.

Serenity Morrisseau says a Unicity Taxi driver assaulted her and locked her inside a cab in the early hours of Sept. 26.

Winnipeg police announced later that week they charged the driver, a 44-year-old man from Winnipeg, with assault and forcible confinement.

Then, on Oct. 13, police announced a 51-year-old taxi driver was arrested and faces multiple charges after a woman, 23, suffered minor injuries when she was dragged by a vehicle, police said in a news release.

The woman told police she'd left her cellphone in a taxi and the Duffy's driver asked for money to return it. When she tried to get her phone, he drove off and she was dragged by the cab, police said. 

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

Duffy's said in an email on Thursday that the company immediately suspended the driver who is charged.

"We take very seriously issues related to passenger safety. In addition to the suspension we have put out a bulletin to all drivers to remind them of appropriate response and the need to ensure safe driving practices at all time no matter what the circumstances," the statement said.

CBC News reached out to Unicity for comment on Sunday afternoon, but didn't immediately receive a response.

Bentley Du Bois, another rally organizer believes Indigenous women are "devalued."

He says there are many more incidents in taxis that don't result in charges or media coverage because they aren't taken seriously.

"If you're an Indigenous woman, you feel absolutely powerless in these situations, there's nothing you can do. Even if you do complain. All the complaints that are happening right now are happening on Facebook, and even then nothing's being done," Du Bois said.

Buffalo Sky Woman drove in from Lake Manitoba First Nation on Sunday to take part in the walk to Unicity. 

She says she's been extorted by a cab driver and treated poorly because she was deemed to be poor and intoxicated when she wasn't.

She wants to see change.

"I came down because I've been victimized myself just this year. I thought this guy was just being a jerk, but no, it's getting worse and worse and worse."

Accountability needed

These issues have been raised in the past, says Hilda Anderson-Pyrz of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, a First Nations advocacy organization.

"Any form of violence against Indigenous women, girls, and Two Spirit and gender-diverse people is unacceptable," the director of MKO's Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Liaison Unit said in a news release on Friday.

"We call on all taxi companies and the City of Winnipeg to step up to ensure First Nations people can access safe taxi services."

People at both rallies say taxi drivers should receive cultural training, much like police and other groups who work with the public.

Buffalo Sky Woman says people who are newcomers may not understand Indigenous history and the traumas they continue to face.

"Put them through that kind of training so they can see how Indigenous people have been treated here throughout all this time," she said.

"They need to know the truth."

Du Bois believes an external structure for accountability must be created to oversee the companies and ensure violence doesn't persist.

"We need to be able to create a real process for accountability for these cab companies, because unfortunately it's the two biggest cab companies, and they continuously do these things because they're not being held accountable."

Grant Heather, the manager of vehicles for hire for the City of Winnipeg says there's been 35 complaints about these types of ride services this year as of the end of August and 50 in 2020.

He says the city has its own process to investigate complaints and is looking into the incidents involving Duffy's and Unicity.

"We take the safety of passengers and drivers very seriously. When we receive a complaint, it's investigated, we look into it and we deal with it within what's allowed under the bylaw," Heather says.

"Sometimes that's a fine. Sometimes that could be pursued into a disciplinary hearing, it really all depends on the magnitude of the seriousness of it."

Heather asks anyone who has experienced an issue that could fall under a bylaw infraction to call 311 and register a complaint, even if they've already filed a police report.