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Gaston (Gus) Candaele, shown here as a Canadian Army cyclist in World War I, refused to take out a City of Winnipeg cab license on the grounds that his business was located in St. Boniface. The Manitoba Court of Appeal agreed with him, undermining Winnipeg's ability to regulate its own cab industry and leading to the creation of the Manitoba Taxicab Board.
Source:
Herbert Rickards, "Pvt Gaston Candaele" at www.findagrave.com (www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7513458).
Winnipeg Cab History / 69
The Winnipeg Taxi War (9)
Winnipeg's ability to regulate its taxi industry was undermined by the fact that the city of Winnipeg was only one of a dozen independent municipalities that formed the greater Winnipeg area.
The first sign of trouble came in October, 1934 when the Manitoba Court of Appeal ruled that Winnipeg did not have the power to impose a minimum wage on cab companies with headquarters in neighbouring municipalities.
Worse was to come in February, 1935 when the court of appeal ruled that Gus Candaele, a St. Boniface cab owner, did not require a Winnipeg cab license to pick up fares in Winnipeg.
These two court decisions effectively destroyed the City of Winnipeg's regulatory authority since cab companies could circumvent the law by moving their headquarters outside the Winnipeg city limits.
Recognizing this, the provincial government stepped in and created the Manitoba Taxicab Board in 1935. As a provincial agency the board had authority to regulate taxis across municipal boundaries.