Parking ticket may be a violation of rights
By Lethbridge Herald on May 4, 2022.
ditor:
On a recent visit to downtown Lethbridge, I parked my vehicle, paid for 30 minutes at a parking kiosk, and went about my business. My appointment took longer than anticipated and when I returned to my vehicle it had been ticketed. I guess you could say that because my time had expired, my vehicle was “illegally” parked. I regard this as an egregious and appalling act of government over-reach, perpetrated by an agent of the state on a hard-working, mostly law-abiding, tax-paying Albertan. I thought that Canada was a free country which means, among other things, that I should be able to park my vehicle anywhere I choose. I’m almost certain that my constitutional and Charter rights were violated. I say “almost” because I haven’t actually fully read either document.
C.N.R. Stewart
Lethbridge
5-4
Perhaps you should start a protest, blockade the downtown, and demand that Shannon Phillips support your cause!
A protest blockade is more likely to be supported by our Federal MP.
“Stewart” sounds like a name of European ancestry. We may be dealing with a ” gasp” older white guy here! Does he not know that as such in today’s Canada he has NO rights? Pay the ticket and apologise for your transgression on traditional lands !
not sure “white” is acceptable any longer: one is either a person of colour, or is transparent.
If I were still teaching, I would use this entry as a teaching resource — it’s a textbook example of bigotry.
it is a textbook example of pointing out that bigotry is acceptable only when it targets people of non-colour.
First, I was responding to “JustObserving” and not to you. With that out of way, I’m very sorry, but I have no idea what your point is. I cannot figure out if this is a statement or a question. Your idiosyncratic application of the rules that govern written English does not help.
i am opposed to bigotry.
Me thinks Mr/Ms/They/Mrs/Them Stewart is being ironic?
Actually, the letter is satirical. Now, what would be ironic, is if the letter writer had taken part in the blockade at the border and had not received a ticket as those vehicles were illegally parked as well.
we get tongue and cheek, but missing brain. quite a silly attempt to equate choosing to accept rules around parking with the practice of forcing one to accept a vax, or any substance, that one does wish to take – or else be relegated to a lesser class of citizen and/or lose one’s job/livelihood. once again, we get an insight into the lack of sense that enabled govts to trample on one’s right to a most basic freedom: that we each have the right to our body. no one stopped anyone from taking the vax, which is just; but, to force something like that on anyone is a disgrace. and it was force, otherwise there would have been no consequences such as disenfranchisement and loss of career for choosing to not vax.
btw: you must be very proud, or ignorant, or a coward, or each, not only in taking and thereby actively supporting something that is borne of massive animal torture, but also grossly egregious, to support the shoving of that nastiness into everyone – under aforementioned consequences.
Same old boorish hot air “me me me” b@llsh*t again from biffy. And the neg votes show how stupid it is. Congrats.
you again…we already know you support animal torture. we already know you support the idea that govt owns our bodies. your outlook supports a dystopia that at least some are not in line with.
the neg vote simply show that most people support serial animal torture, and, support that govt owns the body of each.
Deluded twit!
You accusations are lies.
deluded: you pretend you have a heart and perhaps care for animals, but you in fact support serial animal torture by using products contrived by pharms that torture sentient creatures.
biff, you missed the author’s point.
no, i just took issue with it.
biff, the letter is a satirical comment on the framing of the highway blockades and the protests in Ottawa as “legal” when the vehicles involved were so obviously parked illegally. The letter writer makes no reference to the debate over COVID-19 mandates, including vaccination requirements.
the protests were foremost about rights: the right to choose with regard to our body, and the right to choose with regard to one’s conscience are the most fundamental. those issued tickets for being illegally parked will either pay fines or will be subject to subsequent consequences.
About rights? Okay, but that would be apart from the fact that the key organizers of the Ottawa protests are Western Separatists, have links to White Supremacists and presented a “Manifesto” calling for the overthrow of a democratically-elected government? Oh yea, the protesters’ vehicles were parked illegally, so by what definition was the protest legal?
alas, the biggest issue i have with the protests is that some of the organisers and some of those present will be onside with the idea of white supremacy. as for the likes of manifestos (excepting, of course, where a document would espouse hate), that is free speech. as for separatism, i suppose that rears up if and when the ties that bind us – ideally for a better collective good – come to be seen as shackles. in noting this, i will also state that i am not, at least currently, in support of western separatism. i am, however, quite repulsed by our political system that is hardly representative – and is no longer democratic. i remain dismayed that people still think casting their “x” every few years – the symbol of the illiterate – is doing much for democracy. we should be well aware that there are “elections” in china, as there were in the defunct ussr.
the protest itself was legal, at least the basis of it was. the parking infractions were illegal. not all protesters were illegally parked. morever, when one considers illegal parking as being among the worst infractions of a protest – looting, arson, violence, destruction not present – it was as decent a protest as we have seen, especially given the large numbers involved.
that noted, i do have further concerns. perhaps we might agree that freedom is always under siege: this is why many a bright person has cautioned us to remain on guard. at present, the question of who owns one’s body has been at issue, as has the concern as to whether or not one has right to exercise their conscience. next, will come the issue of abortion – again. our “supreme” court left that door open by “cleverly” dodging the crux of that issue. rather than state, unequivocally, that we each own our body, it chose a nebulous basis in its determination as to when or whether or not a fetus is a human.
what is a concern for me is that freedom is now most championed by extremists. (moreover, simply championing freedom is too often being portrayed as extremism, as though our freedoms are static and well looked after by our political and economic elite). while extremists do have much basis in their pursuit for and defence of freedom (notwithstanding the haters), freedom is hardly a matter that should reside near as much with extremists.
“not all protesters were illegally parked.” — TOO RIGHT! My sister who works at the Parliamentary Library and walks to work each morning told me that the folks who set up a hot tub in the middle of Wellington Street had their vehicles parked elsewhere in Centre Town (somewhere on Kent Street, she thinks), and were very diligent about plugging the parking mete so as to not be parked illegally.
Mr. biff, with reference to this statement: “btw: you must be very proud, or ignorant, or a coward, or each”, the proper expression should be “or all three.”
quite right.
I haven’t gotten a parking ticket from the city in decades because I don’t park where you have to pay. Sucks for the downtown businesses. When the city got rid of our 2 hour free parking areas downtown that was just another nail in the coffin. With the cities choice to start charging for parking at the Enmax centre it’s going to stop some people from attending events there. Wait till they charge you for parking in front of your house, oh shoot! I probably put an idea 8n someone’s head at city hall.
if I have to pay for parking at my house I am going looking for you. what I would like to know, what is the effect of the paid parking going to have on parking at the Soccer Facility. Are parents going to have to pay to watch their children or is that area will be overwhelmed with ENMAX parking to avoid paying.
Right over your head! No surprise at all!