MOOSE JAW — The Saskatchewan NDP is accusing the Sask. Party government of outsourcing parking services at the Dr. F.H. Wigmore Regional Hospital to an American company and failing to prioritize Canadian companies.
MLA Jared Clarke, the NDP’s shadow minister for rural and remote health, stood in front of the hospital on June 4 and said the money people pay to use the parking lot goes “straight to a big corporation in (U.S. President) Donald Trump’s USA.”
This is because the provincial government has allegedly given the parking services contract to Chicago-based company ParkChirp, he continued. That means the U.S. business profits every time someone checks into the emergency room, receives cancer treatment or visits a loved one.
“Now I don’t need to remind you that Donald Trump is openly threatening Canada’s sovereignty,” Clarke said. “And, the fact that a U.S. company is profiting from people who use this hospital is a betrayal to Canadian businesses and workers, especially those already hit by Donald Trump’s trade war.”
The NDP MLA also accused the Sask. Party of giving contracts to other U.S. firms for services such as laboratory specimen collection, park reservations and acquiring hunting and fishing licences, all of which used to be done in-province. He suggested that these actions contradict the provincial government’s “repeated promises to prioritize local procurement.”
Clarke then urged the Sask. Party to cancel the alleged parking-focused contract and deliver on its Canada-first procurement policy by supporting “brilliant” Saskatchewan or Canadian people and businesses.
“The Sask. Party needs to show Saskatchewan people whether they stand with Saskatchewan and a united Canada or with Donald Trump’s America,” he added.
A reporter asked Clarke how the NDP learned that ParkChirp was handling parking services at the Wigmore hospital. In response, he said the NDP has been “looking very closely” at contracts the provincial government has with American companies in light of Trump’s trade war and the necessity to prioritize Canadian companies.
Continuing, Clarke said the Sask. Party has failed to change course when pressed on issues such as camping reservations in provincial parks. So, this has spurred the NDP to continue holding the government accountable to ensure Saskatchewan dollars support Saskatchewan companies.
Clarke was unsure which company previously managed the Wigmore hospital’s parking services, while he was unsure whether ParkChirp was managing similar services elsewhere in Saskatchewan.
“It’s a continued pattern of privatization,” he added.
In an emailed response, the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) said it does not conduct business with ParkChirp, and instead, Winnipeg-based Platinum Parking Canada (PPC) — which has offices in Regina and Saskatoon — manages all SHA-based parking locations.
Platinum Parking Canada employs over 40 people throughout Saskatchewan and provides parking services to more than 25 locations, the email continued. Furthermore, PPC works with ParkMobile, which Sweden-based EasyPark Group owns.
“EasyPark Group is a major global player in parking and is focused on making parking as easy as possible for their clients,” the email stated.
Meanwhile, the SHA uses parking fee revenues to offset the cost of maintaining parking operations and infrastructure so the province can use health-care dollars to deliver high-quality care, the email continued. Further, the SHA has hundreds of parking venues, with each location having operating expenses such as snow removal, electricity costs, pothole repairs, line painting and usage of winter traction materials like sand or ice melt.
“These parking facilities, particularly parkades, also require significant and costly structural maintenance to ensure safety and longevity,” the email added.
