‘It’s bogus’: Sask. mother handed parking ticket after stopping to attend to newborn

A Saskatchewan woman is questioning a parking ticket after pulling over to care for her distressed newborn. Stacey Hein has the story.

A Saskatchewan mother is questioning a parking ticket she was handed after pulling over to care for her distressed newborn.

Katie Jackson from Asquith said she was driving in downtown Saskatoon a couple of weeks ago when her one-month-old baby showed signs of distress.

“She was hysterically crying, and she was turning red and sweating, and I was concerned for her. So, I pulled over to check on her,” Jackson said.

After stopping in the 100 block of 5th Avenue North, Jackson said she realized her baby was hungry and moved into the passenger seat to give her a bottle.

About seven minutes later, a parking enforcement officer handed her a ticket.

Jackson said she was unable to use the parking meter to pay because she was alone in the car during a January cold snap, had her hands full and did not have the parking app set up.

“I was stuck at the time. I was holding a baby with one hand and a bottle with another and I just wasn’t able to do it at that moment,” she said.

She said she wished the parking officer had shown her “a little bit of compassion” and issued a warning instead of a ticket.

“Maybe come to the car and say, ‘Hey, you’ve been parked here for over five minutes now. Are you going to pay?’” she said.

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In a statement to CTV News, a spokesperson for the City of Saskatoon said payment for parking is required in all pay parking zones, regardless of whether a vehicle is running or occupied.

“The City empathizes and understands the concerns shared by the family,” the statement read.

“A paid ticket means a person has admitted a violation. If the parking ticket is not paid, it proceeds to prosecution and can be disputed further in Bylaw Court before a Justice of the Peace.”

Jackson’s parking ticket was $35, but increases to $60 if unpaid 14 days after it is issued. She said she paid the ticket to avoid the higher cost.

Her husband, Alex Gollnick, attempted to appeal the ticket, but the request was denied.

“You have to have them send an email and jump through hoops and hoops just to get any sort of answer, just for them to come back and go, ‘Well, it’s a bylaw. Sucks to be you,’” he said.

“It’s bogus. She’s sitting there, she’s feeding a newborn. You can evidently see her in the car,” he said.

Jackson said what she believed was a safety stop came at a cost.

“I couldn’t focus on driving while my baby was crying in the backseat, I think it was very distracting,” she said. “It’s the same as a phone call, you pull over, you take the call, that’s what is the safest thing to do.”