OPSEU Local 232

 

Parking Fees Issue at the One Stone Road Complex, Guelph

Group Grievance - Letter and sign back form - click here

Background

  • The Building Users’ Committee (BUC) was told by ProFac that the announced 43% increase to parking rates was not an issue for BUC.  Despite this reaction, tenants have continued to pursue the issue at this forum without success.
  • BUC requested an opportunity to review ProFac’s “Survey of Guelph Parking Fees” study which was the basis ProFac used to gauge local market conditions and the subsequent parking fee increase.  ProFac withheld their study.
  • Subsequently, the two major bargaining agents representing staff at One Stone Road,  AMAPCEO and OPSEU,  met to discuss the situation and determine if they could assist staff in light of the stalemate at BUC.
  • The OPSEU Ministry Enforcement and Renewal Committee (MERC) requested a meeting with ORC/Profac, and AMERC. ORC/Profac declined the initiation to meet, instead they circulated an Information Q & A on the parking policy at the One Stone Road Complex. 
  • A Freedom-of-Information request has been made by a Ministry of Environment employee to obtain the “Survey of Guelph Parking Fees.”  At the same time, AMAPCEO contacted ProFac and the Ontario Realty Corp requesting the survey.
  • The Premier’s Office has requested a briefing note on the Guelph issue after receiving a letter from a concerned employee and input from the local MPP’s staff following a call from the OPSEU executive.
  • ProFac released their “Survey of Guelph Parking Fees” to AMAPCEO and tenants at the One Stone Road Complex.   It included only UofG rates and those charged by the City of Guelph at city-owned parking lots. No other employers in Guelph were surveyed.
  • OPSEU and AMAPCEO decided to hold meetings with members to determine what action staff would be comfortable in taking.
  • Both groups are reviewing their options with the grievance process and a letter writing and/or email campaign to the Hon. David Caplan, Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal.

Click here to look back to the 1998 Parking archives when pay for parking became an issue.

Summary of Research

  • One Stone Road generates over $200,000 in revenue.  The revenue is not linked to the maintenance of the parking lots.  It is treated as general revenue.
  • A survey of other AMAPCEO chapters across Ontario reveals a patchwork policy concerning which locations charge employees to park at their place of employment.  Most government offices, outside of Toronto, provide free parking for staff.
  • According to the Ontario Realty Corporation, in response to a letter from AMAPCEO:
    • ORC is “not aware of a formal “Business Case” on paid parking” for government employees.
    • An MBS Real Property Directive written in 1998, states, “new head office ministry buildings such as One Stone Road site,  MTO in St. Catharines and MNR in Peterborough were identified by MBS as paid parking sites.”
  • A Parking Policy Information Sheet released by ProFac states, “Rate increases (at One Stone Road) will follow the local market.”  Their “Survey of Guelph Parking Fees” shows that the local market ProFac monitors consists solely of municipal lots and UofG.  The survey ignores that no other employers in Guelph, who own or lease parking space, appear to charge parking fees to employees parking at their place of employment.
  • The Ontario Realty Corporation indefinitely deferred the establishment of employee parking fees at MTO’s Downsview facility following the filing of 600 staff grievances.  The move to paid parking which was to have been instituted in 1999/2000, has never taken place.
  • If parking fees were eliminated, the facility would still deliver the same degree of parking lot maintenance as required for health and safety reasons.

Resources

Draft Letter to Hon. David Caplan, Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal

Word (rtf) copy - click here  -- Pdf copy - click here

(Date and return address)

Hon. David Caplan
Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal
4th Floor, 777 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario
M5G 2E5

RE:  Discriminatory ORC Parking Policy

Dear Minister Caplan:
It has been announced that parking rates charged to OPS staff at an Ontario Realty Corporation building in Guelph will increase by 42% this year.   

While a sudden increase of this magnitude is an issue unto itself, the ORC announcement has given light to a much greater discriminatory practice warranting your concern and attention. 

The discriminatory practice involves ORC’s policy of charging some employees to park while providing free parking privileges to others, depending on which government office they work from.  This ORC practice amounts to a financial penalty applied selectively to employees based on where they report to work. 

In the recent Guelph example, ORC and their management group, ProFac, declined a request to discuss this issue with bargaining unit representatives from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.  ORC and ProFac also refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of a similar request from the Building Users’ Committee, which represents all tenants of the One Stone Road West, Guelph location. 

ORC has compiled what it calls a “Survey of Guelph Parking Fees” to justify its parking fees.  The survey omits scores of employers who provide free parking for their staff.  Instead the survey relies on only two examples: the University of Guelph; and City of Guelph public parking lots.  

Minister Caplan, you would be correct in assuming that most employers in Guelph accommodate their employees’ mode of transportation to work by providing on-site parking.  They do not rent it to them.  

It is my hope that you will intervene to eliminate this discriminatory, ORC parking policy as it truly amounts to a financial penalty applied selectively to employees based on where they report to work.

Respectfully,

 

Name

cc:       Premier McGuinty
            Tony Dean           
            My Local MPP

Draft Email Address Directory

 

Queen’s Park: 

Hon. Dalton McGuinty - dmcguinty.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org

Opposition: 

John Tory (Cons) - john.toryco@pc.ola.org

Howard Hampton (NDP) - hhampton-qp@ndp.on.ca

MPPs contact info link -  click here

 

ORC

(Minister responsible for ORC)

Hon. David Caplan, Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal (PIR), - dcaplan.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org 

Lou Rinaldi, Parliamentary Assistant to Minister Caplan - lrinaldi.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org 

Greg Dadd – Acting President and CEO & Sr VP Property Management  and Client Service

Greg.Dadd@orc.gov.on.ca

Kathy J. Bull – HR President – Kathy.Bull@orc.gov.on.ca

Dick Slater – Assets Manager, Southwest Region -Guelph Richard.Slater@orc.gov.on.ca

Bruce Lawrence – Regional Director of Operations SW Bruce.Lawrence@orc.gov.on.ca 

Juan Gomez, Director Corporate Policy Juan.gomez@orc.gov.on.ca

 

SNC-Lavalin Profac: 

Ron Augustin
Director of South West Region SNC-Lavalin Profac raugustin@snclavalinprofac.com

Wally Jibb – Area Manager wjibb@snclavalinprofac.com

 

OPS 

OMAFRA: 

Dave Antle, CAO - dave.antle@omafra.gov.on.ca

Dr. B. Archibald, DM – bruce.archibald@omafra.gov.on.ca

Karen Rodman, SMB – karen.rodman@omafra.gov.on.ca

AgriCorp:

Liam McCreery, Chair of Board – cac@agricorp.com

Randy Jackiw, CEO – cac@agricorp.com

MOE: 

Paavo Kivisto DM – paavo.kivisto@ene.gov.on.ca

Allan Gunn ADM Corporate Management Division – Allan.gunn@ene.gov.on.ca

MNR:

Gail Beggs, DM – gail.beggs@mnr.gov.on.ca

David de Launay, ADM Corporate Management – david.delaunay@mnr.gov.on.ca

PIR:

Carol Layton, DM – carol.layton@pir.gov.on.ca

Jeanette Dias D’Sousa, CAO – jeanette.diasdsousa@energy.gov.on.ca

 

Draft Email - use the content of the letter from above.