Ontario hospitals are increasingly relying on parking fees to help pay their mounting bills. This timely shift has left a tremendous burden on patients and families. Even the provincial NDP Leader Marit Stiles has been outspoken against the status quo. She argues that it hits the hardest on those who are already facing health emergencies. The importance of this issue has taken on new urgency as families have to make difficult, often financially devastating choices in the face of soaring hospital visit costs.
Stiles spoke of her late mother, the actress Judith Blegen, who inspired a touching story. Fearing exorbitant parking costs, her mother decided not to stay at the hospital with her husband. This feeling is one shared by so many families who are in the same boat. Stiles contends that these fees essentially punish people who can’t afford it. This reality only compounds the stress of trying to manage their health care needs.
With growing financial pressures and a lack of adequate provincial funding, Ontario hospitals look to parking revenues as an easy way to make up revenue shortfalls. Stretched thin as the lowest per-capita funded hospitals in all of Canada, they are caught between a proverbial rock and hard place. In nearby Ottawa, hospital parking fees could rise to $15.60 per day. Meanwhile, in other parts of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), those fees exceed $20 per day.
The Unfair Burden of Parking Fees
Patients, and caregivers across the country have been vocal about their concern over extreme hospital parking costs. Organizations such as the Canadian Cancer Society have expressed similar concerns. Julie Booker, whose family had to spend hundreds of dollars on therapy for her cancer treatments, portrays the problem. Plus, she said, once someone has cancer, repeated trips to the hospital are often required, adding to the cost burden.
“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.” – Julie Booker
To Stiles’ point, thousands of Ontarians live and operate their daily lives on fixed, precarious or otherwise limited budgets or incomes. This leaves them ill-equipped to absorb unexpected costs. She explained, “They can’t pay it—they’ve already paid all those hundreds of dollars in parking fines. In her discussion, she pointed out how fixed-income seniors are particularly hit hard by these increasing expenses.
The Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) supports the current realities of hospital fiscal pressures. Marina Bozic, communications lead for the OHA, remarked on the experience.
“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 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.” – Marina Bozic
She emphasized that many people are dealing with health care issues while dealing with financial limitations.
“We know that many Ontarians are currently on limited budgets or fixed incomes and may also be facing health care challenges.” – Marina Bozic
Hospital Revenue from Parking Fees
In 2024 specifically, The Ottawa Hospital and its foundation profited more than $35 million from parking revenues. Meanwhile, the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) reported $4.2 million in parking revenue between April 2023 and March 2024. These dollars frequently get downgraded and turned into investments in critical programs, services, and medical equipment that help providers treat patients.
This new dependence on parking fees raises some serious ethical issues. Specifically, it points to the inequities involved in passing additional costs on to patients and their families. Jeff Burch, an NDP Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) from Ontario, has introduced a private member’s motion to abolish hospital parking fees entirely. His inspiration is the recent experience in Nova Scotia, where the provincial government compensated hospitals for parking revenue lost once the provincial government eliminated parking fees.
“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.” – Jeff Burch
The new Civic campus of The Ottawa Hospital is soon to receive a multi-story parking garage. This new addition is projected to increase their parking revenues by $72 million. More money would allow more hospitals to offer needed services. Yet as critics like Brookings Institution’s Kavita Patel have pointed out, putting financial burdens on patients is not only unsustainable. It’s immoral.
Alternatives to Hospital Parking Fees
Given growing public pressure around hospital parking fees, some provinces are beginning to look for other solutions. For example, Nova Scotia’s recent move to remove all parking fees has created new momentum for regions to take the saving people parking fees. Advocacy groups have urged Ontario to follow suit and introduce measures to reduce the financial burden on patients who need to travel to use public hospitals.
Stiles adds that flights and trains might work for medical professionals, but people need to travel to the hospital to support their loved ones. He explains how they’re hit with exorbitantly high parking fines, without any alternatives. She is adamant that the federal government needs to address these expenses front and center. It’s important to not let them off the hook by passing them onto marginalized communities.
As discussions around hospital funding continue, it remains crucial to evaluate how these financial models affect patient care and accessibility. This continued conversation points to a growing imperative to change the way that hospitals in Ontario are funded.
