Regional Hospital Districts

In 1967 - Regional Hospital Districts (RHD's) were created by the-then Social Credit provincial government under former BC Premier W.A.C. Bennett to ensure, both rural/urban people, financially contribute to local hospital capital needs.  Most Regional Hospital Districts in BC align with their corresponding Regional District. Some RHD boundaries overlap two Regional Districts'

For example, the Cariboo Chilcotin Regional Hospital District (CCRHD) align with the boundaries of the Cariboo Regional District along with a portion of Thompson Nicola Regional District (TNRD) Electoral Area 'E' which entitles the Thompson Nicola Regional District Electoral Area 'E' Director to sit on the CCRHD Board.  The current TNRD Area E Director is Sally Watson.

Local hospital capital projects are typically funded on a 40% RHD/60% Health Authority (Province of BC) ratio, although there is nothing in the Hospital District Act that states this specifically

On April 1st, 1999 - the Province of BC relieved the then Greater Vancouver Regional District (now Metro Vancouver) from having to contribute local property tax dollars towards local hospital capital needs but allowed that "tax room" for Translink to have local taxpayers contribute towards the operation of the Regional Transit Service

RHD financing has recently been debated in the public realm including by former BC Health Minister Dr Terry Lake and from RHD's such as West Kootenay/Boundary RHD saying how RHD's were envisioned has become too murky and the RHD Financing Structure needs modernization.

At the 2017 Union of BC Municipalities Convention -- UBCM Delegates endorsed a Resolution from the City of Nelson on the subject of RHD Capital Funding, as follows:

Whereas regional hospital districts were created by provincial legislation to raise a ‘local share’ of capital costs for hospital equipment and building through property taxation with the ‘local share’ historically held at 40% for regional hospital capital projects and the Province contributing 60%;

And whereas local governments have limited ways to generate funding to pay for local services and infrastructure since property taxes are the primary source of revenue and are being stretched to meet the diverse demands local governments already face which cannot sustain the increased load in meeting hospital board expenditures:

Therefore be it resolved that UBCM petition the provincial government to acknowledge that property tax revenue is an unsuitable avenue to fund hospital infrastructure renewal projects and prioritize the urgent review of the historic cost sharing ratio with a recommendation to amend current policy accordingly.

As of this writing - the Province of BC has not responded to the above endorsed UBCM Resolution

At the April 13th, 2017 meeting of the Cariboo Chilcotin Regional Hospital District - the topic of the Terrace Mills Memorial Hospital project was raised by Cariboo RD Area 'F' Director Joan Sorley and the usual RHD/Province Hospital Capital cost share (40/60) was discussed and the fact, at the time that the Northwest Regional Hospital District was contemplating funding their share of the Terrace Hospital project at a 20% RHD/80% Province ratio and at the urging of Cariboo RD Area 'G' Director Al Richmond, the following motion was adopted:

That a letter be forwarded to Northern Health, with a copy to the Minister of Health, asking if the 20% contribution by the North West Regional Hospital District, for the replacement of the Mills Memorial Hospital in Terrace, is the new standard for funding towards capital projects.


On February 9th, 2018 - the Province of BC via BC Health Minister Adrian Dix announced that the final concept plan for the Terrace Mills Hospital Project was accepted by the Province and the project would now proceed to the business plan stage, similar to the current status of the Cariboo Memorial Hospital Project.  However, 3 days before that announcement -- on February 6th, 2018 - the Northwest Regional Hospital District held a Special In-Camera Meeting to discuss cost sharing of the Terrace Mills Memorial Hospital Project and following discussion, the following Resolution was adopted:

The North West Regional Hospital District commits to the Province to fund 30% of the Full Replacement Project for Mills Memorial Hospital, up to a maximum of $113,700,000. The North West Regional Hospital District commits to the Province to fund 100% of the Mills Memorial Hospital Replacement Business Plan costs, with the understanding that those funds will be applied to the NWRHD’s 30% share of the total project - Full background here along with the media article from the local Terrace newspaper here

The CCRHD Board will reviewing a Vancouver Sun article in relation to the April 1st, 1999 provincial decision to allowing Metro Vancouver taxpayers to not contribute property taxes towards local hospital capital needs but towards local transit services instead and I plan to ask the CCRHD Board to consider approaching the Provincial Government to negotiate a cost share arrangement for both Cariboo Memorial Hospital and GR Baker Hospital Projects in the years ahead to avoid long term debt, if we can, similar to the hospital capital financing arrangement that the Northwest Regional Hospital District now has in place for the Terrace Mills Memorial Hospital project

I'm looking forward to having the conversation at the Board table and seeing where it goes...

~SF