Healthcare Activist Calls For Scrapping Hospital Parking Fees

by Dave DesveauxJuly 18, 2016July 18, 2016

The provincial coordinator of the Nova Scotia Health Coalition says it’s time to get rid of parking fees at hospitals.

The Nova Scotia Health Authority says the fees bring in about 10 million dollars a year, but Chris Parsons worries the fees might also carry costs.

He says some people don’t go the hospital because they can’t afford the fees, and they end up waiting until their conditions get much worse before they decide to seek care.

Parsons says Nova Scotia should follow the example of PEI, which stopped charging parking fees last month.

When the change was announced back in the spring, that province’s Health Minister, Robert Henderson, said the move was made to prevent cost from becoming a barrier to people supporting a loved one when they’re ill.

Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s Horizon Health Network has just increased parking fees, saying the money is needed to pay for the upkeep of parking lots.

Dave Desveaux

Dave Desveaux, a native of New Waterford leverages his experience and passion for research in The Coast 89.7 Newsroom where as the Weekday Newscaster. His foray into radio began with a research position at The Coast, which led to the production of a radio documentary on the music of the Mi’kmaq people. The program, entitled “First Nations, First Music” was co-produced with fellow Coast personality Ron Neville and released in early 2011. A graduate of Breton Education Centre, Dave went on to get a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Sociology from Cape Breton University, as well as a Master of Arts Degree in Sociology from Dalhousie University. He has worked as a teaching assistant at Dalhousie, and in various short-term customer service and research positions.

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