Plans to pay the local share of the Kamloops Cancer Care Centre have taken another step forward with the approval of a borrowing bylaw.

The Thompson Regional Hospital District will borrow $45.1 million to pay for its share the $359-million project, which includes the cancer centre, a new parkade, and upgrades to existing cancer care services at Royal Inland Hospital.

The Hospital District contribution represents 13 per cent of the current project cost.

Chief Financial Officer Carla Fox says taxpayers who live in a house assessed at $680,000 will pay approximately $6 in additional hospital taxes this year to cover their share of costs.

“So because there is a large population that pays into this, event though its a larger increase in the budget, the actual increase per taxpayer is $6,” she said. “Over the five years, by the end of the five years, the compounded increase is about $33.”

Fox says the hospital district is not required to go to a referendum – based on provisions in the Hospital District Act – to borrow this amount, which it intends to repay back in 20 years.

“We just need ministerial approval essentially in contact with MFA, we need a bylaw supported by the board, which they accept,” Fox said.

“We would only access temporary borrowing as we need it as the project is going along. We’re not going to access all of the funds up front, but I think its a very good proactive approach to make sure that its approved and its ready for us to access when we need it.”

The hospital board was asked to but declined to pay $51.6 million of the total project costs, which would have amounted to 40 per cent of the cost to pay for MRI equipment, the new 470-stall parkade, and the upgrades to existing cancer services offered in Kamloops.

Instead the board voted to fund 35 per cent of those costs “to reduce the historical contribution of 40 per cent towards major capital projects by 5 per cent to account for the desired Sun Rivers contribution,” Fox said, in her report.

Fox’s comments echoes those made by Health Minister Adrian Dix earlier this week, who said the Province had “worked out” the funding issues with the hospital district.

“There are contributions from the BC Cancer Foundation and the Royal Inland foundation may be contributing to some of the non-cancer related parts of this project but the province is the main funder of this project,” Dix said Monday.

“The province is taking more of a shared risk than they would if this was a regional hospital district initiative like the Royal Inland tower.”

Construction on the cancer centre is still expected to begin next summer and be “substantially” complete by 2028.

The upgrade work, which includes an expanded pharmacy as well as the relocation and expansion of the Community Oncology Network clinic, is expected to get underway in 2026 and be “substantially” complete by 2029.