Ontario faces new push to eliminate hospital parking fees, but policy questions remain

When Marie Grgic's mother was diagnosed with uterine cancer, she said her father had to use his retirement funds to finance costs related to her treatment. 

Cancer costs the average patient nearly $33,000, which includes out-of-pocket expenses and lost income, according to the Canadian Cancer Society. 

"The cost of cancer is parking, it's the care, it's the hospital visits, it's the hospital beds, the medication," Grgic said. 

"Why are we having to go into our retirement funds, our credit cards, our lines of credit when we have an OHIP card?" 

Grgic is among those supporting a private member's bill that seeks to eliminate hospital parking fees across Ontario, introduced after Nova Scotia removed them earlier this month. The bill is unlikely to pass. But the impact on hospital funding, enforcement and equity for those without vehicles should be addressed, a policy expert says. 

NDP MPP Jeff Burch (Niagara Centre) tabled a motion on Wednesday to eliminate the fees for patients, families and hospital workers — the party's second attempt to address the issue in less than a year. 

"This is a common sense proposal, making life more affordable and improving access to health care," Burch said at a news conference on Wednesday. 

The Canadian Cancer Society is among those supporting the NDP bill, said Hillary Buchan-Terrell, the organization's manager of advocacy for Ontario. 

Despite the universal health-care system in Canada, cancer patients feel they are facing an unfair burden of extra costs when they pursue treatment, she said. 

"People feel like they have to rob from their future to pay for their present," she said. 

While cancer patients often face frequent hospital visits, Buchan-Terrell said parking fees can add up for anyone who needs to go to the hospital regularly.

Grgic said the proposed bill "would have made a great deal of difference" to her father. 

Her mother passed away in November 2016, after her father sold his assets to finance her treatment. He now lives with Grgic's family — an example of the "ripple effect" of cancer costs, she said. 

"He sold his home," Grgic said. "To see him not be able to travel as freely as he would have liked to, it's heartbreaking."