The Thompson-Regional Hospital District wants to meet with Health Minister Adrian Dix about potentially offsetting hospital taxes from places like Sun Rivers and Sienna Ridge.

Hospital district chair and mayor of Kamloops Ken Christian says this comes after Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc said no to having non-band members pay into hospital taxes.

Developments like Sun Rivers, Sienna Ridge, Silver Sage and G&M Trailer Parks don’t pay into the service. Christian says that downloads an extra quarter-million dollars per year onto other taxpayers across the Thompson Nicola Regional District.

He adds that all people in the Kamloops area rely on services from Royal Inland Hospital in particular.

“We’re not looking for a contribution from TteS, their membership, the band itself, nor the commercial properties. We are looking for non-Indigenous locatees which have properties,” Christian clarifies.

“I see little difference between Tobiano, Rivershore and Sun Rivers. Except that Tobiano and Rivershore pay hospital taxes, and Sun Rivers doesn’t.”

Chief Rosanne Casimir told the hospital district in a letter that one of the reasons the band will not be collecting the tax from locatee land leaseholders is that band already subsidizes provincial healthcare.

Christian says if that’s the case, the province needs to reimburse the hospital district that amount. “Someone, somewhere, has to pay, just to make sure the playing field is equitable.”

(Photo: Sun Rivers Resort Community Facebook)