DATE: March 14, 1997
TO: Functional Heads - Administration
CC: Functional Heads - Finance/ Heads of Personnel
SUBJECT: Responsibility for Parking Policy
On December 12, 1996, the Treasury Board rescinded its Parking Policy and the
1994 freeze on parking charges. This means that custodian departments and
agencies are now responsible for setting parking rates for government owned or
leased properties. The main custodian departments are Public Works and
Government Services Canada, National Defence, and the Royal Canadian Mounted
Police. Departments will still be responsible to determine their operational
requirements, however.
The Treasury Board has also agreed that the Secretariat should issue 'once
only' guidelines to provide general direction on parking facilities occupied by
the Crown. Departments should follow the guidelines below in carrying out their
respective responsibilities.
The decision of the Treasury Board is in keeping with the Secretariat's new
direction. We are gradually moving away from detailed central controls towards
the role of facilitating and providing general direction.
Parking Guidelines
I - Employees' Responsibility for
Transportation
Government employees are normally expected to pay their commuting costs.
Nevertheless, departments will assess whether it is appropriate to charge
parking fees to employees with a permanent disability who are certified unable
to use public transit. In addition, departments may assess the appropriateness
of exempting employees from paying parking fees when these employees are
regularly required to use their cars for government business or when a
significant portion of an employee's regularly scheduled hours of work fall
outside the 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. time period (i.e., shift workers).
Members of the Executive Group (EXs) and Governor-in-Council appointees will
continue to be eligible for a special rate as part of their terms and conditions
of employment. Their parking spaces are not necessarily included under the
"operational needs" described below.
II - Meeting Operational Needs
Departments will provide only the parking spaces needed to meet their
operational requirements. Custodian departments are required to meet only the
minimum operational requirements of departments, specifically, parking for the
government's auto fleet, for shift workers, for visitors or clients (where
commercial lots are not available or convenient), to meet specific
- conditions related to operations in non-central or remote locations, and
to meet the requirements of municipal by-laws if applicable.
- When there is excess parking capacity, custodian departments should assess
the merits of disposing of it. Maintaining a ratio between the number of
parking spaces and the size of the departmental workforce is discouraged as
a criterion for determining operational needs.
III - Application of Parking Fees
Custodian departments will set the fees at market value, in accordance with
the Treasury Board Revenue Policy. Market value is determined by local market
conditions and would normally take into account the availability and cost of
commercial parking, the availability of public transit and the practices of
other employers in the immediate vicinity.
In some cases, a gradual increase of the parking fees over a reasonable
period may be appropriate if a sudden fee increase could cause hardship.
IV - Other Considerations
To ensure a consistent approach, departments and agencies and custodian
departments in the same building or located in the immediate vicinity are
encouraged to consult with each other.
Changes to parking fees should be introduced only aftersufficient advance
notice (i.e., advance notice of weeks rather than days) has been given to
employees and their representatives. If employees represented by the
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) are involved,
consultations on current arrangements and prices charged are required under the
Electronics Group (EL) collective agreement. The parties involved in the
consultations are the employing and custodian departments and the bargaining
agent. The IBEW business agent can be reached at 1-800-267-4163.
In determining eligibility for or the allocation of parking spaces where
special circumstances exist, departments should adopt processes that are fair,
and equitable, and that consider environmental incentives.
I trust the guidelines will provide the direction needed for a smooth
transition. Please note that the current government financial policies and
practices, the current administrative and financial relationships between user
and custodian departments, and the current practice of payroll deductions
remain, for the present, unchanged by this decision.
Requests for information and questions arising from this decision should be
addressed to the real property management services unit of your custodian
department.
Marcia Clement
Director,
Safety, Health, Employee Benefits
and Services Group
[ Letter sent to Deputy Ministers and Heads of
Agencies on March 26, 1997]
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