Health-care workers in Nova Scotia are saying that the new free-parking policy at hospitals is leaving them without parking spots.
The Nova Scotia government removed parking fees at all hospitals and health-care facilities in the province effective May 1, making good on an election promise by Premier Tim Houston.
“We committed to eliminating fees for everyone parking at a Nova Scotia Health or IWK Health facility, and that’s exactly what we’re doing,” Houston said in an April 30
press release. “I know people have been eager to see this change. Nova Scotians shouldn’t have to worry about parking fees when they’re sick and seeking health care or caring for our loved ones.”
The province in February announced it had allocated $19 million of its 2025
–26
budget toward subsidizing for lost revenue that hospitals and the IWK would incur from the free-parking policy. The IWK focuses on children’s health, mental health and addictions, and women’s and newborn health programs. Nova Scotia Health has 97 parking lots, 39 of which required payment prior to the policy.
As part of the new policy, a ticket validation system will be implemented at some sites to ensure parking is used only by patients, visitors, health-care workers, and staff, while other users will have to pay, the April 30 press release said.
However, since the free-parking policy came into force May 1, Nova Scotia Health has received some 600 complaints from health-care staff expressing difficulty finding parking.
The health authority told CBC that it needs 4,000 more parking spaces at peak times than are available.
Staff have always been discouraged from parking in the visitor areas during peak hours, so as to give priority to patients, and that message was emphasized when free parking came into force. If they do park in those areas, they would be charged
$6 an hour, or $72 for their day shift, which is nearly half of the wages for some support staff. Prior to the new policy, the cap was $14.50 a day.
Some staff working downtown opt to arrive much earlier than their shifts in order to find a spot.
Sandra Mullen, president of the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union (NSGEU), addressed the issue in an
open letter to the premier. While union members support the province’s “well-intentioned” policy to waive parking fees, hospitals now face “unintended consequences,” she wrote, noting that employees working in downtown Halifax now face a “significantly worse parking situation.”
“Since the introduction of free parking, we have received numerous reports from our members stating that finding parking near their worksites has become near impossible,” Mullens said. She asked Nova Scotia Health and the IWK to work with NSGEU to develop short-term and long-term solutions to “alleviate the parking crisis for health-care workers in downtown Halifax.”
Government’s Response
Nova Scotia Health says it is in the process of finding solutions. For one, it’s backtracking on its policy of charging staff $6 an hour for parking in visitor areas during peak hours, rolling it back to the flat fare of $14.50 a day.The health authority says it is also working with the province to enforce a fine of $500 a day for anyone parking in hospital lots who isn’t an employee, patient, or visitor. No timeline has been given as to when this would begin.
Nova Scotia NDP MLA Claudia Chender criticized the provincial Progressive Conservative government,
saying that “there’s a way to roll it out, but [Premier] Tim Houston didn’t make a plan.” She said that since the free-parking policy came into force, she’s received “hundreds” of emails and other correspondence from health-care workers saying they can’t get to work, they can’t afford to park, and casual workers aren’t picking up shifts.
Nova Scotia isn’t the first province to try free hospital parking only to revoke its policy. In 2020, British Columbia tried waiving parking fees at provincial health-care facilities but reinstated pay parking in
2022.
“Maintaining across-the-board free hospital parking is making it hard for patients, staff, volunteers and visitors to find a spot, as non-hospital users are taking advantage of the situation to park for free while conducting business that’s not hospital-related,” said then-Minister of Health Adrian Dix. “These hospital parking spots must be available for those who need them most.”
However, B.C. kept free parking for patients receiving dialysis treatment or cancer treatment in acute-care programs, as well as parents and caregivers of children staying overnight in the hospital overnight. It also kept free parking for volunteers and maintained financial hardship provisions to be managed on a case-by-case basis.
Meanwhile, Quebec stopped short of implementing free hospital parking across the board and instead put in place a more moderate policy, making the first 2 hours free and introducing reduced maximum daily rates.
