Effective Dec. 31, per exit fee will increase from $6 to $7.50; Tracy’s Dream brass concerned<\/p>\n
Published Dec 03, 2025 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 Last updated 6\u00a0hours ago \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 3 minute read<\/p>\n
![\"Sault](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1206-sm-sah-parking.jpg\")
This sign at one of Sault Area Hospital’s parking gates, as seen Thursday afternoon, will have to be mended when, effective Dec. 31, the per exit fee increases from $6 to $7.50 for patients, visitors and the public. JEFFREY OUGLER\/THE SAULT STARArticle content<\/p>\n
Sault Area Hospital<\/a>\u00a0is tagging fiscal tough times\u00a0for ushering in its first parking rate\u00a0hike\u00a0in a decade.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Effective Dec. 31, the\u00a0per exit fee will increase from $6 to $7.50\u00a0for patients,\u00a0visitors\u00a0and the public.\u00a0On Jan. 1, parking rates will also increase for staff and physicians.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Recommended Videos<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n SAH said Wednesday Ontario hospitals rely on parking fees as a revenue source to supplement government funding, and parking revenues are used both to offset maintenance costs and to generate revenue,\u00a0supporting \u201cvital\u201d community patient care\u00a0programs.\u00a0<\/p>\n As SAH anticipates an overall deficit for a second consecutive year, with a \u201csignificant\u201d\u00a0shortfall projected\u00a0for fiscal 2025\/26, all \u201cefficiency measures and revenue-generating opportunities\u201d are being \u201cactively\u201d evaluated.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Dennis Dinelle said he was \u201ctaken back pretty good\u201d when SAH called him this week with the news.\u00a0<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not a good news story for us at all,\u201d said Dinelle, whose late wife, Tracy, adopted an activist role following her 2012 cancer diagnosis, being instrumental in the launch of Tracy\u2019s Dream<\/a>, which\u00a0assists\u00a0cancer patients who need help shouldering Sault Area Hospital parking fees.\u00a0<\/p>\n The\u00a0retired OLG Casino Sault Ste Marie manager and others have\u00a0remained\u00a0faithful to the cause, undertaking administrative duties and carrying on with fundraising.\u00a0<\/p>\n The charity has received some 800 calls so far this year for assistance, marking an ever-increasing demand.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll have to step up fundraising a little bit to try to get through this,\u201d Dinelle told The Sault Star.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m on pension now. I know what it\u2019s like.\u201d<\/p>\n A bottle drive is\u00a0slated for\u00a0early in the new year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0putting a lot on this charity that so many in the community\u00a0utilize,\u201d Dinelle added.\u00a0<\/p>\n The last parking increase was 10 years ago, in January 2016, and the\u00a0per-exit rate has since\u00a0remained\u00a0at $6. The maximum permissible increase under provincial\u00a0government legislation is $13 per exit.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, SAH is increasing our rate only to keep pace\u00a0with\u00a0inflation,\u201d the\u00a0hospital\u00a0said.\u00a0<\/p>\n A decade ago,\u00a0Sault Area Hospital branded a funding freeze as a chief factor in its\u00a0decision then\u00a0to hike visitor parking rates.\u00a0At that point, SAH parking rates\u00a0had\u00a0remained\u00a0unchanged since 2009.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ron\u00a0Gagnon,\u00a0Sault Area Hospital\u2019s president and CEO\u00a0at the time of the last increase, said then\u00a0that\u00a0hospital funding had changed \u201cdramatically,\u201d pointing to no increase to base funding over the\u00a0previous\u00a0four years.<\/p>\n Advertisement 5<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cI would say we\u2019re going into the fifth year of frozen hospital budgets, so hospitals need to be looking at all aspects of generating revenue, reducing costs in order to provide\u00a0excellent\u00a0patient care,\u201d\u00a0Gagnon\u00a0told The Sault Star in a\u00a0December\u00a02015 interview\u00a0following\u00a0a\u00a0board of directors open meeting.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t look at parking as some cash\u00a0cow. We look at it as a way to sustain\u00a0quality\u00a0health care in Sault Ste. Marie.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n SAH\u00a0parking lots have an entry-to-exit grace time of 20 minutes and a payment-to-exit grace\u00a0time of 30 minutes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Discounted parking passes\u00a0providing\u00a0several parking options will continue to be offered, and\u00a0updated pricing is available on the hospital\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n Parking\u00a0here still appears to be\u00a0less expensive than that of SAH\u2019s nearest counterpart, at least for flat rates.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Tracy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1206-sm-sah-parking-tracy.jpg\")
Tracy\u00a0Dinelle, centre, adopted an activist role following her 2012 cancer diagnosis, being instrumental in the launch of Tracy\u2019s Dream. She received great support from her husband,\u00a0Dennis, and mother, Rena Ross, in her cancer fight. JEFFREY OUGLER\/THE SAULT STAR\/POSTMEDIA NETWORK<\/p>\n