WARMINGTON: There are many signs of Toronto's economic decline

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If Saaed was heading into a safe injection site, it would have been all hands on deck in an effort to get him in there.

If the new immigrant to Canada, who arrived in Toronto from Saudi Arabia in 2024, had been setting up a tent in a city park, there would have been little fuss. Or robbing a store or stealing a car.

But the father of two small kids, who is driving for Door Dash, found out Tuesday what Toronto won’t tolerate — the hard way.

You can’t stop on the side of College St., run into a restaurant to get an order, run back out and drive off. And you can argue about it, either.

He could have injected an opioid into his veins or ridden an electric motor scooter up on the sidewalk and there would be no fine. For this sin, there was a $120 fine.

“I didn’t see the sign,” he said. “I made a mistake.”

Once he saw the parking enforcement officer, he quickly retreated to the car before he got the food order and made his case.

“I told her I am new to the country and I hadn’t ever been to this area before,” he said. “But she didn’t care.”

Suddenly, that food delivery — for which he would be paid $5 — ended up costing him $120.

“I learned a lesson,” said Saaed, adding he knows he was in the wrong and “won’t do that again.”

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He can’t afford to.

Why such a stiff fine for an honest mistake? He didn’t leave the car there for an hour. Just 20 seconds.

He wasn’t trying to be a bad person. He was just trying to deliver a hot meal.

“On Aug. 1, 2024, the City of Toronto increased fines for illegal parking, stopping and standing in designated areas . . . from $100 to $120,” explains the city.

Added city spokesperson Laura McQuillan: “The fine increases were approved by Toronto City Council … following a comprehensive review by city staff that determined increasing parking violation fines would better align the city with fines that are set to an appropriate level based on the seriousness of an offence and could reduce and discourage illegal parking habits, aiming to keep the city moving and safe.”

Fair enough in most cases. But in a city where small restaurants can use the business and there are people earning low wages, the benefit of the doubt can sometimes be granted to a newcomer who’s learning to speak English and didn’t see a sign.

Saaed, originally from Yemen, came here from Saudi Arabia wanting to make a good life here and contribute. He said he meant no harm by the error.

Give him a second chance? Or take the money and let Mayor Olivia Chow waste it?

The reason why photographer Jack Boland and I were near College and Bathurst Sts. was to cover the lineup for sustenance at the Fort York Food Bank, which has become famous for its massive queues of hungry people in need of groceries. On some days, this line goes for a block.

It wouldn’t take much for Saaed to end up in that lineup, while the city has more compassion for those committing crimes or its office workers processing these fines for those on the six-figure Sunshine list. There’s zero tolerance for parking issues.

The officer was doing her job, but in my view, her superiors should provide direction that it’s better at times to cut a guy a break and remember that not everybody has a pension and a dental plan.

The system, after all, offers breaks to many other people like those let out on bail while facing gun charges or carjacking or drug trafficking offences.

Authorities do not have to throw the book at every person unknowingly breaking a bylaw – even if cash-strapped, lame politicians are gouging the public for more money to pay their out-of-control bills.

Toronto is in decline in so many ways.

While they have cleaned up some of these tent cities, others just pop up. Now there are these tiny homes showing up in St. James Park next to some tents. These are heated by diesel, have a stove and fire extinguisher, and certainly look better than the scruffy tents nearby.

But they don’t belong in a public park, and the city has told the people living in them that. The concern is these things may show up in every park before long.

While there is some merit into studying such an idea, perhaps the city could do a pilot project on the street where Mayor Olivia Chow or Councillor Ausma Malik reside instead of a park where children play.

If President Donald Trump’s 25% tariff threat ever materializes, it will be interesting to see how many people are forced to move down from the condo towers above and end up sleeping in these small boxes.

Meanwhile, remember to show some discretion, as people are only human.

If in doubt on how to not always throw the book at everybody just because you can, city officials should just offer the kind of help they would if the person in need was on fentanyl.