People across Canada and beyond erupted with outrage Tuesday after bylaw officers in London slapped a $2,260 fine on a cancer survivor who’d been shuttling patients who couldn’t drive themselves to and from medical appointments.

“Way to go City of London. Your bylaw enforcement people get the Golden Middle Finger Award,” Brantford native Doug Foulds wrote in an email to The Free Press, part of an avalanche of emails and messages after an article about the Good Samaritan’s plight reached more than 40,000 people on Facebook alone.

The anger wasn’t confined to ordinary citizens: Stratford-area Conservative MP John Nater was one of a number of people to question why bylaw enforcement was cracking down on people offering rides to medical patients.

“This course of action is entirely unnecessary and inappropriate in these circumstances,” the Perth-Wellington MP wrote to London Mayor Matt Brown.

“The service provided by the individual in question is not a commercial operation. Rather it is a service for those who require it; in many cases for medically necessary procedures. Going forward, I hope the City of London will use more appropriate discretion in exercising its bylaw enforcement.”

The outpouring for the cancer survivor, a 58-year-old woman who doesn’t want to be identified because she doesn’t want to draw unwelcome scrutiny from those who administer Ontario’s disability program, wasn’t limited to outrage.

Dozens of people said they want to help cover the costs of the woman’s fines and her legal defence.

One Londoner went a step further. The head of Neighbourhood Legal Services, Jeff Schlemmer, has started a GoFundMe campaign, contributing $100 himself and seeking to raise $3,000 to cover the fines and the legal costs for the woman, who has hired paralegals.

The outpouring of support left the woman crying for joy. “God bless these people. Thank you from the bottom of my heart,” she told The Free Press.

Brown, who was attending a Toronto conference on Tuesday, wasn’t available to answer questions, but acting mayor Paul Hubert filled the breach.

“I’m totally sympathetic with the challenge people have getting to (medical) appointments. I appreciate and applaud this woman’s desire to help, but there are other ways (that don’t run afoul of bylaws).”

The woman has said she was a victim of a city-run sting operation. A bylaw officer posed as a patient who needed a colonoscopy so that he could pay the $12 she charges for a round trip, which led to two $1,160 fines for owning and operating a vehicle for hire without a licence.

Hubert wouldn’t address her claim specifically, saying legislation bars city councillors from interfering after fines are levied. But he said bylaw officers are expected to issue warnings first and he has heard nothing so far that would convince him they strayed from that course.

“My understanding is that the process was followed,” he said.

Hubert says he will ask city administration what can be done to help patients in ways that comply with city bylaws.

The incident has raised questions for Coun. Josh Morgan, who like Hubert, said bylaw officers are expected to try to educate those who violate bylaws before issuing fines. “I (certainly) have questions,” he said. “Did we operate as we normally operate?”

For more than three years, the woman has been a regular at outpatient clinics at St. Joseph’s Hospital, providing rides to and from the clinic to patients who aren’t allowed to drive after being sedated for procedures such as endoscopies and colonoscopies.

She says she refuses tips, and at first charged only $10 for a round trip, an amount to cover the costs of gas and maintenance.

Her work is so appreciated by medical staff, a lead doctor there has said she’s considered a critical volunteer.

The woman offers to get patients safely situated at home, rather than drop them off at the curb. She provides about 20 round-trip rides a month, she says.

City council created a vehicle-for hire bylaw in April to deal with the arrival of ride-sharing giant Uber, whose presence shook the traditional taxi industry.

jsher@postmedia.com

Follow @JSheratLFPress

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To help

The head of Neighbourhood Legal Services, Jeff Schlemmer, has started a GoFundMe campaign, contributing $100 himself and seeking to raise $3,000. Visit gofundme.com/st-joes-hospital-volunteer-driver

Reaction

Sample emails and Facebook posts

"Having just finished six rounds of chemo at Peterborough Regional Health Center, after two cancer surgeries, I am well aware of the value of the service that this warrior provides for those less fortunate than myself.”

Eric R. Spagnolo, Cobourg

"The city of London by fining a good Samaritan who is providing a service destroys the very fabric of community involvement and caring for your neighbours.”

Fred Hendy, Chandler, Ariz.

"This woman should be considered an angel walking among us . . . Not a taxi or Uber and not given fines for doing good deeds.”

Muriel (Mickey) Black, in a letter to London Mayor Matt Brown