17/03/2026 19:01

Last week (March 10), the Mayor introduced a motion at the city council meeting to:
• Pause the PAC and Arena Multiplex for one year
• Stop further spending and contracts
• Let the next Council decide

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫.

⏳ Council will decide next Tuesday March 24th whether to approve the motion.

📣 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐀𝐂 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐱.

If Council doesn’t hear from residents before Tuesday, support for a pause won’t be visible.

Feel free to use this sample, or share your own thoughts:

📨 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐥@𝐤𝐚𝐦𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐬.𝐜𝐚

𝐷𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑀𝑎𝑦𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑙,

𝐼 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑀𝑎𝑦𝑜𝑟’𝑠 𝑚𝑜𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑃𝐴𝐶 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑀𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑥.

𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑦,
𝑌𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑁𝑎𝑚𝑒

𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭:

You may hear that “it’s too late to stop.”

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞.

Even if there are costs to pause, they are far smaller than committing to hundreds of millions without full clarity or a direct public vote.

👉 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐧𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞.

Please forward this email to other Kamloops residents, and share the information on social media. Every email counts.

Thank you for standing up for transparency and responsible decision-making.

– Kamloops Citizens United

25/11/2025 0:56

New justification:

Pause the Kamloops Performing Arts Centre (PAC) Until a 2026 ReferendumIn 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. PutThen—let theresidents final decision to votersdecide 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.*Your email and home address will not be visible to the public.*Please confirm via email to to register your vote.