Pause the Kamloops Performing Arts Centre (PAC) Until a 2026 Referendum
In 2024, the City of Kamloops approved a Performing Arts Centre costing $154 million, including a $140 million taxpayer-funded loan. Before construction has begun, the project has already escalated to $211 million.

The original 2019 business case has never been updated to reflect current costs, risks, or operating requirements.

Many residents value arts and culture—but the City is pushing ahead with this project without the basic information or transparency required for a project of this size.

The PAC is advancing with no published:
• updated business case,
• current cost model,
• full risk analysis,
• complete site assessment,
• updated operating model showing annual costs or revenue,
• explanation for why $7 million was approved for design work before updating the business case or validating true costs,
• independent third-party review or value-for-money audit, which most cities require before approving major borrowing,
• publicly disclosed archaeological impact assessment, despite the downtown area having high Indigenous archaeological potential,
and
• no real public vote.

Residents are facing the steepest tax increase in Kamloops history, and no long-term operating cost information has been provided. This is not the time to commit taxpayers to hundreds of millions in generational debt.

Council has not required management to provide any confirmation that the cost estimates are current, realistic, or defensible under today’s economic conditions.

Council has committed residents to a $140M taxpayer loan without operating cost projections, revenue projections, or safeguards that any responsible funder would require. Taxpayers are being treated as the bank—without the information a bank would require.

We are asking for four steps:

1. Pause the PAC immediately.
2. Complete updated costing, operating projections, due diligence, and risk analysis.
3. Release all updated information publicly.
4. Then—let residents decide in a referendum during the municipal election on October 17, 2026.

This is not a “no” to a performing arts centre.
It is a responsible pause during a difficult financial period — and a commitment to transparency, accountability, and a real public vote.

Add your name if you believe Kamloops taxpayers deserve an informed choice, not a rushed decision without a meaningful vote.
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