Editor, The News:
Just because hospitals require patients and visitors to pay for parking does not mean that the government does not care about these people.
There is a reason behind the need to charge for parking.
If they were to provide free parking everyone, the cost of maintenance for the lots would have to come from the budget they could be putting towards other, more critical needs.
We are so fortunate, living in Canada, to have universal health care benefits.
The hospitals want to ensure that all health care funding and tax dollars, used to provide that universal health care, are used in the most beneficial way possible.
Meaning they want the money to go towards actual patient care and making improvements inside the hospital.
Therefore, in order to provide parking, including maintaining or expanding the lots, they must charge for it.
In addition, charging for parking discourages or even prevents people who are not actually going to the hospital from using the parking lot for the leisure.
If parking in hospitals were free, it would most likely draw in significantly more people and a result make finding a parking space within the lots much more difficult.
In conclusion, just because we must pay for parking at a hospital doesn’t mean the government does not give a damn about the patients or visitors.
The reality is they just want to ensure the funding they have is put towards the most crucial things in order to benefit everyone.
Shanelle Siemens
Maple Ridge