TORONTO -- The CEO of Abrams Towing, the largest tow truck company in Canada, says he is calling for sweeping changes to end violence and intimidation within his industry.

"It's criminal really," said CEO Joey Gagne, who has been in the tow truck business since 1984 and has up to 200 trucks on the roads in Ontario. 

The Greater Toronto Area has seen an alleged turf war over the last two years in the highly competitive industry that has led to more than 200 criminal charges, including arson and murder, against members of several organized crime groups working within the towing industry. 

Multiple Toronto police officers have also been suspended with pay amid an internal investigation into corruption in the Greater Toronto Area towing industry.

"There's a root cause to the problem and the root cause is a system called first available," argues Gagne. 

He said that usually the first driver speeding to the scene gets the tow, but now other drivers are showing up claiming territory violations.

"I believe firmly that this model perpetuates the violence," Gagne said. 

With 30 years of experience behind the wheel of a tow truck, driver John Somerville said he's never seen anything like what has happened over the last couple of years. 

"It’s intimidating for one guy to show up at the scene no matter who it is and the intimidation starts, it’s never comfortable," Gagne said. 

Gagne says it all begins with the rush to get to the job on the side of the highway. 

"It starts somewhere at the scene because some of the operators who are in an effort to win the business are creating zones that they say is [their] territory,” he said.

Gagne says those territories or zones simply do not exist, they are made up. 

Ontario Premier Doug Ford recently announced a task force to regulate the industry and protect consumers. 

“There’s no place for that kind of activity. To all the bad actors out there, my message is very clear: ‘The party’s over, we’re coming for you, we’ll catch you and we’ll lock you up,’” Ford said.

Gagne said he is advocating for a system where tow companies are contracted out or drivers get on a list and get their fair share or work. 

What is happening now is not working for the industry or the consumer, he said.

"What I do know is this system is broken and everyone knows it.”