Clark optimistic on health care spending; warns on HST

July 15, 2011 By CAM FORTEMS  Kamloops Daily News

Clark also warned there will be a consequence on the province's finances based on the mail-in vote on the HST. She acknowledged, however, health authorities across B.C. are all begging for capital and operational spending as the population ages and demands better health care. Any requests "will be put in context" of needs elsewhere.  She was questioned by reporters at the fire centre about Interior Health Authority's conceptual plans for RIH redevelopment. While cautioning that the plans are preliminary and nothing's been submitted to the province, Clark's message was that a growing city needs better medical facilities and there is no looming budget crunch that would shelve the plans.  Clark was in Kamloops for a brief visit, her first since becoming premier. She arrived late Thursday afternoon for a tour of the provincial Fire Centre and later went to the Noble Pig, where she met with party members. B.C. Premier Christy Clark said Thursday there are no budgetary restraints that would prevent spending several hundred million dollars on redevelopment of Royal Inland Hospital - unless voters turf the HST. "We want to make sure Royal Inland Hospital is functioning as well as it can and Kamloops is getting the best service it possibly can. . . . Yes there are other requests from other parts of the province, but we're always bullding something and there's no reason this shouldn't be on the list of things we plan to build." "Part of the issue we have with managing financial requests is we don't even know where our budget's going to be at in a few months because if the HST fails, it will be a $3-billion bite out of the bottom line."