This is not the news heavy industry in Kamloops wanted to hear, after more than two decades of lobbying city council to reduce their tax rates, among the highest in B.C.
If the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion dies it will affect the future tax base in the Kamloops region.
Mayor Ken Christian says the project would have contributed to higher revenue through taxation on pipeline infrastructure.
Christian says the extra cash was already earmarked.
“We were going to use that to offset our heavy industry tax rate which is high and so that is going to slow that process down for sure.”
The mayor admits its a difficult problem given the circumstances.
“Hopefully we will find some other strategies that we can use to help Tolko and Domtar in terms of what is a fairly excessive tax burden for them.”
Christian also points more than $700,000 with Kinder Morgan in a Community Benefits Agreement will also disappear, but stresses the city never received the money and never spent the money.