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He minced no words about what he thought of parking fees at hospitals: “It’s criminal,” he said.

As an engineer, he said he can afford to pay the fees, but many are not able to. It’s also the principle of the thing, he added.

Don Stramford, who just paid another $7 to renew his two-hour parking, was at the hospital to celebrate the birth of a grandchild. It’s a happy occasion, he acknowledged, but that’s not always the case.

“My wife died of cancer nine years ago,” he said. “I paid $65 a week because I came here every day to see someone who is dying.”

For Jon Buss, head of the advocacy group, hospital parking must be overhauled so it does not exploit people who may be sick or in distress and who may not be able to concern themselves with keeping meters topped up.

“If you look at medications, they say don’t operate heavy machinery after taking this drug. If you go to surgery, the doctors say don’t enter into legally binding contracts a week after surgery. The common denominator here is state of mind. When people go to a hospital, they are in an exposed state of mind because they’re often panicking, they may be hurt, they may be suffering.

This is not the venue to operate a for-profit operation,” he said.

Buss’s group is not recommending health authorities provide free parking. Instead, it has suggested options intended to shift away from a pay-in-advance model that leaves people vulnerable to fines.

In total, health authorities raked in nearly $36.4 million from patients, family members and others who paid to park at hospitals in B.C. last year. All authorities saw their parking revenue increase faster than the rate of inflation, according to Buss’s group.