Ontario NDP MPP Jill Andrew (Toronto – St. Paul’s) tabled a motion calling on the province to eliminate hospital parking fees for health care workers, patients, and their families.

“Nobody deserves to be stuck with thousands of dollars worth of bills for visiting a sick loved one,” said Andrew. “When you’re getting chemo, managing chronic health conditions, and just trying to keep up with your medical appointments, parking costs should never be a barrier. In the GTA alone the average cost of a monthly hospital parking pass is about $400.

That’s a lot of money, and it’s completely unacceptable to ask of our overworked and underpaid hospital workers, as well as patients and their families.

Earlier this week, I tabled a motion calling on this government to eliminate hospital parking fees for healthcare workers, hospital staff, patients, and their families and adequately fund our public hospitals.

This is a simple, straightforward measure to make hospital visits just a little less stressful for patients, and less expensive for the people who work there. Let’s pass this today.”