While the province pays for hospitals in other parts of the province, Prince George taxpayers have to chip in extra
In the lower mainland, when new hospitals are built, or when existing, aging hospitals are updated and expanded, our provincial government picks up the entire tab, thanks in part to the taxes we pay here in Central B.C.
Regional district residents – people living in Prince George, Mackenzie, Valemount, McBride and rural points between – will have to dig deep to cover that $365 million contribution toward the hospital’s new patient care tower. Most of that digging will happen in Prince George, as our residents make up the majority of the property tax base of the RDFFG.
Only through Coun. Brian Skakun, one of the four Prince George city council members who sits on the board of the RDFFG, did taxpayers learn that the decision was made behind closed doors before going to a planned formal vote in September. Besides, this discussion should not have been held in camera in the first place. Hospital expansion funding doesn’t meet any of the requirements for a meeting to be closed to taxpayers.
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