“We are not even in there an hour,” said Guthrie. “I think it is just a money grab.”
Councillor Paula Fletcher, who chairs Toronto’s parks committee, also called for a review of the city’s rules about who needs permits for park use.
“We want seniors to be walking in our parks, we want everybody to be walking in our parks,” Fletcher said in an interview.
“There’s a difference between those who use parks as the focus of their commercial activity – like dog walkers who take their pooches to the park, or a hot dog seller who sets up a stand in the park – as opposed to a running or jogging group that uses a park as part of its route.
“Some people do use parks in a major way, and should be having a permit,” she said. “They’re making a lot of money while they’re in the park. Most Torontonians would say: `You should pay your way.’
But bylaws shouldn’t be enforced in such a way that they make people feel unwelcome, she said.
“I think the bylaw on the books needs to catch up with what our intention is as far as bringing people into parks, and how they’re used and at what point you become a commercial user,” she said.
Keywords: seniors
