We lost a major employer (1200 employees, 1% of the population) locally due to lack of Canadian content laws (Their contract was sent to China). That is a major tax blow, and that gap has to be filled somehow.

I get it, things get more expensive, we still have to pay for it. This way we gain more income without raising the overall tax base. It just seems like such a low hanging fruit to pick.

I'll happily pay money to the state knowing it benefits everybody at least to some extent. Paying private corporations only benefits a few, which kinda negates the effect stuff like paid parking is supposed to have.

It's slowly changing, and there are apps for this now. But they're private apps that come with an additional fee for the app provider. That's what I find annoying. Private companies making money on what should be state-run infra.

What irks me is the way they do it here where often you have to decide how long you want to buy a parking ticket for when you park, not when you leave. So you either overpay or get an additional fine for overparking.

I totally see how that's annoying on an emotional level. But rationally it's pretty clear that communities everywhere are short on funds and need to rely on this kind of revenue.

And yes, I get that you can still use these space for free if you don't park there, but it's the constant take take take.