Manitoba NDP promises free hospital parking if elected

08/14/2019

If the NDP win the provincial election, they promise that parking will be free at Manitoba hospitals.

NDP leader Wab Kinew said Wednesday there would be a $3 million commitment toward the initiative, with Manitobans getting two hours of free parking whenever they visit a hospital.

Kinew said paying for parking only adds to the stress of going to the hospital, whether you’re a patient or visiting a loved one.

“The bottom line: we want to make healthcare free — to ensure that it’s free — and one of the barriers that people face in Manitoba is the cost of parking,” he said.

“I’ve heard it over and over again. Parents going to deliver a baby, people driving themselves to cancer care… they’re worried about the cost of parking. In some cases, they’re worried about getting a parking ticket. We want to relieve that stress.”

The NDP leader said the plan would involve buying the time from the corporations that own the hospitals and the parking lots they control.

Kinew said the idea came from talking to a local father who told him he paid thousands of dollars in parking costs when dealing with his son’s cancer treatment.

It’s part of the opposition NDP’s continued focus on healthcare as the provincial election campaign is underway, said Kinew.

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