Thread by @TorontoStar

12 taxi drivers in the GTA have died since the pandemic started. Countless others infected, some still suffering from COVID

They bring the sick to hospitals, to vaccine clinics and testing sites. Why are they not a priority?

@r_bahniwal #InTheirOwnVoices
thestar.com/opinion/contri…

"While others were told to stay home, taxi drivers couldn’t. They still don’t. After seeing their coworkers die from the virus, many taxi drivers chose not to go to work, however this decision was not an easy one."
thestar.com/opinion/contri…

"Although the taxi industry is directly impacted by provincial lockdowns, the strict eligibility criteria of the small business grants make it difficult for any taxi drivers to qualify for them, further increasing their financial hardships."
thestar.com/opinion/contri…

"Sometimes you don’t get a single passenger in the entire day," a driver explains. If the government should have funded the materials and changes needed to ensure vehicles were able to transport individuals with COVID-19, she writes.
thestar.com/opinion/contri…

"Taxi drivers were failed once when COVID-19 friendly transportation was not arranged by the government. They failed a second time when they were not considered front line workers, had lower priority on vaccines."

@r_bahniwal writes.
#InTheirOwnVoices
thestar.com/opinion/contri…