Sask. NDP calls for free parking at hospital emergency departments
WATCH: The NDP opposition is calling for free parking at hospital emergency departments. Wayne Mantyka has more.
The NDP opposition is calling for free parking at hospital emergency departments. The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) implemented the parking fees about a year and a half ago.
The NDP believe it's wrong to ask emergency patients to pay for parking while seeking urgent care.
'We've been very clear, we definitely don't feel people should be charged in emergency situations you know visiting the ER,' MLA Meara Conway said during an event Monday.
Conway says she recently received her share of parking tickets while visiting a loved one in hospital.
'Especially when you've got a new app. People are really struggling to download that app. Can they pay on the machine? Can they pay by phone? I got a few parking tickets myself because it's the last thing you're thinking about when you're in that kind of situation,' she said.
Some health care users, like Farrah Dorian, feel parking should be free for all hospital visitors.
'I don't really think it's appropriate and no one should have to pay to see their loved ones, right Especially if they're injured or they're on their deathbed. I don't think it's fair,' she said.
Nova Scotia has cancelled hospital parking fees all together.
'People that are going to visit loved ones, or you know struggling with a diagnosis or interaction with the health care system, health care professionals, they won't have to worry about paying for parking so it's a good thing,' Premier Tim Houston said during that announcement.
The Government of Saskatchewan says it is working on a response.
While the Sask. NDP is calling for free parking for cancer and for emergency patients, the opposition is not certain whether that courtesy should be extended to all visitors and staff.
It's currently studying the financial situation before suggesting what the government should do.
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Ottawa Citizen
38 minutes ago
- Ottawa Citizen
'A tax on sick people': Ottawa hospitals have record-breaking year for parking revenue
Article content On a recent visit to Ottawa, Ontario NDP leader Marit Stiles met with MPPs and toured the new Civic hospital construction site, including the massive parking garage now under construction. But her first stop was more personal. She spent the morning with her elderly father who had been taken to the emergency department at the General campus of The Ottawa Hospital and was undergoing tests. But one person was noticeably absent during her hospital visit: her mom. 'They are fixed-income seniors. They can't afford it—and they've spent so many hundreds of dollars already on parking fees,' said Stiles. They are far from alone. Across the province, patients and advocates say the high cost of parking at a hospital amounts to a tax on sick people and their families at a time they can least afford it. And while provinces like Nova Scotia this year eliminated parking fees at all health-care sites across the province, Ottawa is currently building the city's largest paid parking garage as part of the Ottawa Hospital's new campus by Dow's Lake. Ottawa's Julie Booker, who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer nearly 15 years ago, says hospital parking fees made up a significant portion of the thousands of dollars her family spent during her cancer treatments. 'When you are diagnosed with cancer, you are at the hospital all the time for appointments. The Canadian Cancer Society has found that the average Canadian spends $33,000 out of pocket for lifetime expenses. Saving parking fees would really help,' she said. Booker, who continues to work with and advocate for cancer patients, said everyone has concerns about the cost of parking. An older woman she spoke with was parking far away from the hospital and walking a long distance while undergoing radiation treatment at the General campus because she couldn't afford parking fees. 'Radiation is tiring for the best of people. She is exhausted because she has to walk so far. These people have enough to worry about.' Patients, families, caregivers and organizations such as the Canadian Cancer Society all say hospital parking fees – which top out at $15.60 a day in Ottawa and at $20 or more in parts of the GTA – are an unfair and often unaffordable burden on people who are already undergoing physical, mental and financial stress. In most cases, all-day fees apply after just two hours. Advocates are encouraged to see hospital parking fees on the radar in Canada and say now is the time to do something about them in Ontario. Jeff Burch, an NDP MPP from Niagara Centre, has put forward a motion calling for the province to eliminate hospital parking fees, following in Nova Scotia's footsteps. 'Right now, people are paying hundreds of dollars a year just to get the care they need. Times are tough, and this is one simple way the government can help people and make healthcare more accessible,' Burch said. Such a motion is meant to put pressure on the government to take action. Stiles said she believes the government is starting to listen to concerns about the issue as more people speak up. Nova Scotia's parking fee elimination move involves the provincial government reimbursing hospitals for lost parking revenue. Ontario would have to do the same and 'properly fund hospitals' in order to take the burden of parking fees off patients and visitors, said Burch. 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The hospital's parking revenue is likely to increase further with the construction of a multi-story parking garage at the new Civic campus, which is scheduled to open in the next year – years before the hospital itself is set to open. The new garage, which is located across from Dow's Lake at Carling Avenue and Prince of Wales Drive, will have 2,900 parking spots. It is currently a concrete shell built on top of the LRT tracks. The parking garage has been controversial among some residents, particularly because of its presence on the edge of some of the most widely prized green space in the city and because of its size. Earlier drawings showed the finished parking garage mostly hidden by grass berms and trees with a park on top. It is unclear whether that has changed. It is one of two large hospital parking structures built in Ottawa in advance of the hospitals they will serve. At CHEO, construction on the new 1,050-space parking garage began long before ground was broken for the new Children's Treatment Centre. The Ottawa Hospital has said that the parking garage was built first to make sure construction workers on the new campus had a place to park and to ensure parking was available as soon as it was open. To some, the fact that the parking garages come first is a symbol of how inextricably tied parking is to healthcare in Ontario. Individual hospitals and their umbrella body – the Ontario Hospital Association – say they understand that some patients, families and health care workers have concerns about hospital parking fees. 'We know that many Ontarians are currently on limited budgets or fixed incomes and may also be facing health care challenges,' said Marina Bozic, a spokesperson for the Ontario Hospital Association. Hospitals are working to address some of those concerns, she said, including policies to help cases 'where parking costs may pose a significant concern.' But hospitals also rely on the revenue, they acknowledge. 'Unfortunately, Ontario hospitals are managing many financial pressures, and they are often faced with challenging budgetary decisions aimed at containing costs while meeting the increasing service needs of patients. The OHA (Ontario Hospital Association) and its members remain in close contact with the Government of Ontario on these matters as the financial and operational stability of hospitals and the provision of high-quality care for patients is our paramount priority,' Bozic said. Rebecca Ableson, spokesperson for The Ottawa Hospital, called parking a 'long-standing challenge' at TOH and across the province. Parking funds, she said, support key capital projects at the hospital, help pay for new medical equipment and help build new patient care environments that are not funded by the government. At Queensway Carleton Hospital, proceeds from parking help to pay for things such as medical equipment, which are not funded by the government, said spokesperson Natasha Curley. In 2024, Queensway Carleton's parking revenue was $4.88 million, up from $4.16 million the year before. And at Montfort Hospital, parking is managed by the Montfort Foundation. In 2024, parking revenues were just over $2 million and were almost entirely invested in education and research at the hospital's research institute Institut du Savoir Montfort, said spokesperson Martin Sauve. CHEO's parking revenue was $4.2 million dollars between April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024. The revenues are invested in programs, services and medical equipment such as MRIs. CHEO and other hospitals offer frequent user passes and long-term passes at a discounted rate. Replacing that hospital revenue is one challenge, but eliminating hospital parking fees also comes with other challenges.
CBC
39 minutes ago
- CBC
Trump biopic The Apprentice takes home top film award at Canadian Screen Awards
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CBC
40 minutes ago
- CBC
1 exam, 50% of final grade. Students say Quebec must follow rest of Canada and change 'unfair' system
Social Sharing As students across the province get ready to write their ministerial exams, the pressure is high – and so are the stakes. Luca Di Fiore, a Grade 11 student, says the final exam feels like a judgment. "It seems unfair almost after everything you do throughout the entire year," he said. "To hear that one test that you do at the end of the year, irrespective of everything you've accomplished throughout the entire year, could just change everything for you [is unfortunate]." Quebec is the only province in Canada where some final exams account for 50 per cent of high school students' final grades. Some teachers and students have been pushing for change and wish to be heard. The province has standardized Grade 10 and 11 exams in French, English, mathematics, history and science – all worth between 25 and 35 per cent of final grades. But some, including history of Quebec and Canada and basic French as a second language, count for 50 per cent. Other Canadian provinces also administer standardized exams, but none are weighted as heavily. Quebec wasn't always the only province placing such emphasis on these exams. Alberta brought its equivalent – Diploma Exams – down to 30 per cent 10 years ago. Di Fiore explained that if students are unable to retain everything they learned during the year, it can make all their hard work feel "pointless" when it all comes down to just three hours. His classmate, Mia Beauchamp, shared that a poor exam result has the power to bring down her mood and her confidence and makes her doubt whether she'll pass the year. "I think it's very stressful because we can't remember it all. Teachers aren't expected to remember it all, why are we?" she asked. She believes the exam's weight should be reduced. Di Fiore proposed replacing the ministerial exam with monthly standardized tests from the ministry. Although he acknowledged the value in maintaining test uniformity to ensure consistent teaching across the province, he emphasized the need to discuss lowering the exam's weight. WATCH | Students, teachers want standardized testing to weigh less: Do ministerial exams count for too much in Quebec high schools? 9 minutes ago Duration 2:59 'Not the way the real world works' Paul Berry, a Grade 10 and 11 mathematics and history teacher at Options High School, is also advocating for a reduction in the final exam's weight. While he sees their importance, he argued they shouldn't hold the level of prominence currently given to them. "[The government treats] these exams like they're sacred texts and like they're the be-all and end-all," he said, adding that the experience is very heavy for many students. "There's nothing really in life where you're going to be facing that type of situation … It's just not the way the real world works." Berry and his colleagues work with many students who struggle with mental health and learning disabilities. He expressed concern over whether these students can effectively demonstrate their knowledge under such pressure. "For the most vulnerable students, it's really them who get hit the hardest," he said. Berry also views the situation as a sign of distrust in teachers, who spend their entire year with their students. "It shows a real lack of appreciation for the work that we do and a lack of concern for the real-life consequences that some of these students will face if they're not able to meet what the government considers to be the standard," he said. Current model limits teachers, some teachers say Michael Wadden, a Grade 10 and 11 history teacher at a high school in Montreal's West Island, remarked that it often feels like teachers are "teaching to an exam." He wishes he had more freedom to engage students through alternative methods – like a mock parliament, debates, analysis and reflection – but says those activities risk cutting into exam preparation time. Wadden argued that the current model limits students' ability to reflect, express their opinions and take a stance – skills he says all teachers would love to encourage them to develop, especially in a course that teaches Canadian and Quebec history. Around this time of year, he starts to see more absenteeism as students realize much of the classroom time will be dedicated to reviewing material they feel they can study on their own. Wadden also pointed out that some of his students are grappling with trauma and issues at home. "To have everything so dependent on one day and three hours is just not fair to these kids," he said. Wadden's colleague, Esther Ste-Marie, a Grade 7 social studies teacher, noted that even though her students don't yet write ministerial exams, teachers are already working hard to prepare them for Grade 10. Still, this year, she's trying something new: prioritizing a project-based approach and critical thinking. "It's been working well, but I still have at the back of my head … my students. They still need to be able to do a formal test because in Grade 10, they'll have to do it like everybody else," she said. Ste-Marie pointed out that this reality ties teachers to the responsibility of preparing students for ministerial exams. "The ministry is asking us to create those students ready for the 21st century skills to make them lifelong learners, to make them critical thinkers, but yet they're limiting us," she said. "We want them to think outside the box, but we're not allowing them to think outside the box." How Alberta's exam reform benefited students Jason Schilling, the president of the Alberta Teachers' Association, explained that the province's decision to make final exams worth 30 per cent instead of 50 significantly relieved pressure on students. "It also allowed me as a teacher to assess my students in a variety of different ways that would show what the students know more than necessarily sitting down and doing their reading comprehension in a written test in such a high stakes kind of moment," he said. "When it's not weighted as much or if it's not weighted at all, it does allow you flexibility to be more creative." Quebec Education Minister Bernard Drainville stated last week that he is not considering any changes. "Fifty per cent to ensure equality, to ensure that we can compare results from one school to the next, from one region to the next," he told reporters. But Di Fiore, while understanding Drainville's perspective, disagrees. "If we're talking about equality, if everybody's at 30 [per cent], that's still equality, right?" asked Di Fiore. "And why are students getting pressure put on them if the thing that we're attempting to evaluate with these [exams] is the school systems?" Di Fiore believes those affected by the current system deserve a voice in the decision. "If you're a doctor, you talk to your patient about what they're feeling," he said. "I think everybody should be involved in that conversation so we can get all perspectives." WATCH | Learn more about Quebec's plan to ban cellphones in schools: Full cellphone ban part of new 'civility' rules in Quebec schools 1 month ago Duration 2:43 New regulations will prohibit students in public and private schools from using electronic devices on school property as of September 2025. Quebec Education Minister Bernard Drainville hopes the regulation will lead to better concentration and socialization between students. The rules also set requirements for how students address teachers and staff.
