WARMINGTON: Do you want city that nails moms for dropping kids at school?

Article content

Has governments at all levels become so big that they need to harass parents dropping their kids off at school to help pay their bills?

Do you want to live in a country where there is zero-tolerance enforcement of moms getting their kids to school? Or one that offers some leniency?

While Canada is in the middle of a federal election campaign to determine the direction of the country, what typically matters for people is what happens in their day-to-day lives on the street.

It’s already hard enough for young families to survive in today’s expensive Canada without being harassed by authority and fined as they deliver their kids to school. Or should those families follow the rules and forego parking for a minute to collect children from school?

The debate was underway in Mississauga Wednesday morning. There are two entrenched camps. Which one do you fall in?

But at a time where it’s hard to get a police to respond to a home break-in or a carjacking, it’s noticeable when a parking officer walks up and down at an Erin Mills neighbourhood school to scold moms and dads with little kids, as well as hand out $50 parking tickets, even though he was stopped in the same lane.

Mississauga residents get prompt service for parking infractions.

And somebody has to pay for the 8.8% budget increase passed through council. However, hammering moms with two little kids is not humanitarian. It’s heartless, police-state stuff.

Recommended video

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.

Play Video

Sometimes governments forgets the difficult plight of the people they are putting their boots to. It’s a better look when cities help families, respect them and make their lives easier instead of ruining their day.

Now, technically, the city is able to pull this off as part of their tax collection scheme because it does say “no parking” in the lane. Most days it goes unenforced and it’s unrealistic to not expect parents to park down a side street.

While it’s enforced like they are terrible parking violators, no one was really parking.

They were just getting their kids up to the door and then heading back out. It’s all over in about 45 seconds. As for the nearby chaotic kiss-and-drop-off area — a massive jam of cars and buses — parents say they find it terrifying and dangerous for the smaller kids because moms or dads are not allowed to get out of the vehicle to help them.

On this Wednesday, it was -2C outside, so it was a chilly, difficult morning. This was the kind of day where the city should assist people. Care for them. Cherish them. Respect them. Make it easier for them. Put in 100% effort for the people governments work for.

The city can pretend these parents are criminals and take pictures for its records and, perhaps, feel powerful.

But while that’s happening, there’s real crime going on elsewhere and it’s not these people, who merely pulled into the same lane that the parking officer did, who are committing it.

They are good people. Law abiding people. Taxpaying people.

Now, instead of a friendly warning, they get tagged with a fine that takes more money out of their budget to help pay the six-figure salaries earned by city councillors and Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish.

Toronto goes through this a lot, too.

I recently wrote about a food delivery driver who was hit with a $120 ticket on his first $5 delivery of the day. If someone is really blocking people, that’s one thing. But most times it’s someone tripping over the rules.

When citizens, already struggling to make ends meet in a society ruined by overpaid politicians who don’t apply the same by-the-book standards to themselves, feel abused and disrespected, it creates a bad tone for a city. It’s like picking on hunters about their firearms while armed repeat criminals routinely receive bail.

Parking officers have a job to do but it shouldn’t be to raise money for failing politicians who can’t balance their budgets.

There should be room for everybody in these scenarios where compassionate people think outside the box and respect each other’s perspectives. There are a lot of realities at play. Getting the kids to school safely and economically is important. There should be grace, compromise and understanding and not a zero-tolerance, nail-the-mom attitude where people’s photos are captured by the deep state — like something out of an Orwellian scenario.

This is all easily solved.

Instead of tickets, there should be a designated, five-minute drop-off area for the morning and afternoon  so these families can have a comfortable, stress-free time getting kids to and from school. No confrontations, no fines, no lectures and no conflict.

Just people working together as fellow humans.

But many big government supporters love taxing regular families and regulating them to a point where their lives become complicated, expensive and stressful.

My feeling is when it comes to moms and dads getting their kids to and from school, cut them a little slack.

What say you?