Premier Kathleen Wynne has turned her attention to hospital parking fees, reminding patients and their families that prices for long stays have been cut 50 per cent. “Patients have made it clear they’re frustrated by the high rates,” Wynne said Monday, echoing concerns about hydro rates that have prompted her promise to rebate the 8 per cent provincial tax on electricity starting in January. “Parking fees can add up quickly,” she added in the lobby of the Hospital for Sick Children, where a five-day pass that used to cost $100 has been chopped to $50 since the cut took effect Saturday. Trailing the Progressive Conservatives in a recent poll and with the next provincial election looming in 19 months, Wynne and cabinet ministers have been on a “pocketbook” push to convince voters they are paying attention to strains on family finances. Her throne speech last month included the hydro rate tax rebate as the government has come under increasing criticism for electricity prices, particularly after a long hot summer when many families had their air conditioners running non-stop.

Source: thestar October 03, 2016 16:07 UTC