Queen Elizabeth Hospital parking fees questioned in legislature

Liberal MLA Bush Dumville is calling for a break on parking fees at Charlottetown's Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

In the legislature Wednesday, Dumville called on government to extend the grace period during which people do not have to pay for parking to 60 or 90 minutes from the current 30.

But Health Minister Doug Currie told the House the parking fees make money.

"[It] generates revenue of approximately $375,000 per year, which is reinvested back into a range of services that are provided in health care to the over 3,000 Islanders that do visit and frequent the QEH on a daily basis," Currie said.

The QEH is the only hospital in the province that has parking fees. They were put in place in 1993.

Dumville also suggested scrapping hospital parking fees entirely.