ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Just days after celebrating the issuing of the province's first ride-sharing licence, the Newfoundland and Labrador government has suspended it, citing possible "new information" about the successful company.
The information came to light the same day the province announced it had awarded a licence to local company Redsea Riding, owned and operated by Yosief Tesfamicael, the Department of Digital Government and Service NL said Tuesday.
“On Friday, new information was brought to the department’s attention potentially related to the licensee and the matter is under further review,” said an email from Tina Newhook, the department's director of communications.
“In the meantime, the department has suspended the licence until further notice.”
A case summary report at the province’s Supreme Court shows that a person named Yosief Tesfamicael has pleaded not guilty to six charges, including sexual assault, sexual interference and unlawfully making sexually explicit material available to a child. A trial is set to begin in October on the charges that were filed Oct. 18, 2023.
Tesfamicael spoke to The Canadian Press on Friday about his plans to launch the province's first Uber-style ride-sharing operation in the St. John's area, but when contacted Tuesday, he had no comment.
The Liberal government said last year that it intended to build a “provincial approach” to ride-sharing. It made new rules and began accepting licence applications in December.
Provincial regulations require anyone applying for a licence to operate a "transportation network company" to prove they have obtained criminal record checks for all potential drivers. The province's news release Friday announcing Redsea's licence said the company employed 10 drivers, but it did not say if Tesfamicael was among them.
Redsea Riding's application for a ride-sharing licence met the department's requirements, Newhook's email said. And though she was asked, she did not say if the department would change the way it scrutinizes applicants for permits.
In a news release after local news outlet VOCM broke the story on Tuesday, the Progressive Conservative Opposition questioned the government's due diligence in issuing ride-sharing licences.
"The ride-sharing industry has not even arrived yet in (Newfoundland and Labrador) and we have controversy and serious public safety issues," Joedy Wall, the party's shadow minister for digital government and Service NL, said in the release.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 23, 2024.
The Canadian Press
