Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’d like to use my Member’s statement to sort of paint a picture about an experience that was brought to me by a constituent. Could you imagine your life if you were handicapped or a child of yours was handicapped? Moving around in this city is difficult enough with a child who is in a handicapped situation, but could you imagine how difficult it is from time to time finding parking spaces and you pull up to a parking lot to find that the vehicle occupying that space doesn’t have a handicap placard?
They came to me with this concern, and I’ve seen it many times myself, and realizing how challenging this must be. The discussion started by asking if people get extra demerit points for parking in handicap stalls when they’re not designated there. I approached the Department of Transportation and asked them, do we cause anything extra, above and beyond a fine of some sort, for people who park in handicap stalls? The response from the department is, of course, and probably rightly so, that this is a particular municipal issue and falls under their purview and authority. So no demerit points are issued because it’s not a moving violation.
I wonder if a $250 fine applied by municipal services is an accountability measure being met for people who park in these stalls. I certainly don’t think it is. I certainly can tell you that a constituent feels very strongly about this fact as well. They wonder why there are no demerits deducted from a particular person’s driver’s licence when they’re fined on these particular cases. Furthermore, they’ve said, why don’t they have court appearances where they have to account for their type of parking and behaviour?
It’s not asking a lot. A lot can be said about how a society treats their most disadvantaged and I wonder what message we’re sending here. Perhaps this is a chance to turn it around and send the right message that we stand with them through their difficult efforts and we certainly support them by sending the right message to people who cause this type of breach.
Later today I will ask questions of the Minister of Transportation to say if we can’t do this, what’s stopping us? If other jurisdictions don’t want to do this, why don’t we lead and show that we care about the most vulnerable? I will have questions later today for the Minister of Transportation.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.
