Follow-up petition on the subsidization of car parking at schools for teachers
Petition: 528
Issue(s): Air quality, Climate change, Governance, Human/environmental health
Petitioner(s): A Canadian resident
Petitioner location(s): Windsor, Ontario
Date received: 6 March 2025
Status: Completed—Response(s) to petition received
Summary: This petition is a follow-up to petition 482 and requests further clarification on the responses provided by the Minister of National Revenue.
According to the follow-up petition, the minister responded that requiring free car parking to be declared as a taxable benefit by teaching staff would likely not result in additional emissions savings. The petition suggests that vehicles are a major contributor to global emissions, and therefore those who are responsible for polluting (that is, drivers) should bear the cost of it. Furthermore, the petition claims that the government’s decision to forego revenue through subsidized free car parking does not make sense given the current climate crisis and budget concerns.
To gain further clarification, the petitioner asks for the following information:
- whether the Minister of National Revenue is considering changes to how taxable benefits are claimed in order to measure how much revenue is generated or forgone from free car parking being claimed or omitted
- whether the Minister of National Revenue has conducted a review on free parking being claimed as a taxable benefit
- how the Minister of National Revenue has concluded that there would be little emissions savings by reasserting the existing requirement to declare free car parking as a taxable benefit
- what the estimated impact on greenhouse gas emissions would be if educational staff use other modes of transportation to get to school
- whether there are tax incentives for people who choose to walk, cycle, or take public transit to and from work
Federal departments/organizations responsible for reply: Canada Revenue Agency