Giving free parking to veterans in the City of Vancouver would be a small token of thanks.
Currently, veterans and members of the Canadian Armed Forces are exempt from parking fees at city-owned meters and facilities for one week leading up to Nov. 11.
Last November, council asked municipal staff to examine ways of extending the exemption to year-round.
But instead of approving the idea, the city’s engineering staff have come back with a report this month advising against it – as well as recommending that veterans be stripped of free-parking the week leading up to Remembrance Day.
'We're being treated unfairly,' says veteran
"This whole thing is crazy," said Vancouver veteran Reid Lewis, a service officer at the Grandview legion branch.
For veterans in the city around his age, 68, "the convenience of life is very important," he said.
For instance, without free parking privileges, an elderly veteran might have to walk several blocks to get to a doctor's appointment.
The city staff report said offering veterans free parking all year would be financially detrimental, resulting in a $2 million a year loss.
Lewis emphasized, "these are people that protected our lives, our way of life. We wouldn’t be here without our veterans."
City manager Sadhu Johnston assured, “celebrating veterans, people who risked their lives for the safety and security of all Canadians is already done in a number of ways: Remembrance Day ceremonies, monuments, and declarations.”
Lewis explained public acknowledgment one day of the year (Nov. 11) isn't the same as improving veterans' everyday lives.
“Veterans are not, in general, a low-income or disadvantaged group, so this does not advance key equity goals,” the city manager alleged.
Lewis said he knows of at least 20 veterans in the city who are without permanent homes.
"Back in the day being a soldier paid very little – not as it does now," he explained.
The 68-year-old veteran concluded: "We're being treated unfairly."
City council is considering the staff report on Thursday.
