Quebec: Uber wishes to negotiate with transport minister Fortin on new regulations

Fortin, who has recently assumed office as the transport minister, ruled that the drivers of the ride-hailing companies will require a 35 hours of training.

Along with the training, the background of the drivers will have to checked by a police force, which was earlier done by private companies.

However, Uber wants the government to ease on the new regulations while Fortin seems to be firm in his decision.

Fortin was quoted by CBC News as saying: "My job is to put a regulatory framework in place. Whether a specific private company decides to operate within it, it's not for me to be for or against that."

He even said the ministry is responsible for making rules and regulations for everyone and ensure safety.

The ride-hailing company, in a statement, stated that they would require a bit more time to enforce the training requirement.

Relaxing the new rules to some extend, Fortin said the new drivers appointed on or after Sunday must get their background checked within eight weeks while the old drivers will get two years time.

Complaining against the government, Uber said they were not consulted while making the regulations and also the training period is too much for the part-time workers.

The old rule, which expires on Saturday, needed all drivers to undergo 20 hours of mandatory training.

Quebec is the only Canadian province where Uber drivers need to go through the training process.

Succeeding Laurent Lessard, Fortin became the new transport minister on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Souvik Ghosh)