Sure. Thank you very much.
I want to thank Senator Runciman and Mr. Chisu for bringing this bill forward. I think it's something that has needed to be done for some time.
I just want to tell you, Senator Runciman, that I've spoken to a number of drivers in the Mississauga transit system called MiWay transit, and they're very supportive. There have been a number of very serious cases of assault on the drivers in Mississauga, and I think that needs to be addressed.
I also want to thank you for including taxi drivers. You mentioned that they weren't in the previous bill, and I thought that was a problem with the previous bill, quite frankly. Taxi drivers are often all alone in their vehicles late at night. There are no other passengers, just maybe one bad passenger and the driver, and they're at enormous risk for these kinds of assaults. I think we really needed to address that and I'm very grateful to you for doing that.
I wonder if you could tell us a little about some of the stories you've heard about taxi drivers. Just before I let you answer, I want to tell people about the TTC driver of a streetcar who was involved in a case that we've all heard of where a person was shot. That driver got all of his passengers safely off the streetcar and then he went back onto the streetcar to confront the person who was threatening people with a large knife. I think that's the kind of behaviour that we want to reward.
I'll let you answer the question about taxi drivers.
Thank you.