The mayor of Kamloops has taken his dissatisfaction with the provincial government’s decision to scrap the downtown BC Lottery Corporation headquarters replacement project right to the top.

Ken Christian says he talked with Attorney General Dave Eby on Friday night to express to him how upset he was with the decision, but he also had a message.

“When I spoke with the minister, we talked about some of the vacant commercial space particularly in the downtown,” Christian said. “There are floors of buildings that are vacant.”

“[I told them] that as they see themselves squeezed out of their headquarters, my expectation would be that they would be leasing that space and accommodating those workers here in Kamloops.”

Christian noted that the Minister also told him the Lottery Corporation has an easier time recruiting new workers, especially for tech jobs, in Kamloops than they do on the coast.

“The wage is the wage,” Christian noted. “It doesn’t change between Vancouver and Kamloops and your ability to live a much better lifestyle is obviously here in Kamloops.”

“I think we have to stop thinking of ourselves as the poor second cousin.”

And the Mayor also shook off criticism from his predecessor – current Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Peter Milobar.

Milobar said he expects stronger reactions from Kamloops businesses and politicians rather than “they are disappointed by the move”, which is how Ken Christian described his reaction.

“Peter is an opposition MLA, he’s paid to be outraged,” added Christian. “I’m the mayor of a city that has to get along with this government.”

“I took it upon myself to meet with Jim Lightbody, the [BCLC] CEO and then David Eby to reiterate that we are disappointed about the fact that there’s not going to be a $50-million investment.”

Last July, Eby said the replacement headquarters project was all systems go, but it was cancelled last week.