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VICTORIA — B.C.’s New Democrat party members are urging their government to make hospital parking free for patients and families, but the minister responsible isn’t ready to commit to any such action.

NDP members at the party’s weekend convention passed a resolution that called on the provincial government to “eliminate parking fees for patients and families visiting hospitals in B.C., while taking an evidence-based approach to ensure spaces are available and the system is not abused by those who are not patients or their family members.”

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The resolution, which passed on the convention floor, said that parking fees are “a hardship during some of the most stressful moments in a family’s life” and “give private companies the chance to profit from parking violations incurred by sick or grieving people using a publicly run service.”

The fees — which range by health authority, but at the Vancouver General Hospital parkade are $3 per half-an-hour or $18.75 per day — also create a financial barrier within the health care system, according to the resolution.