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Despite tens of millions of dollars in budget cuts in the last few years, the McGill University Health Centre is on track to post another $8.8-million deficit next year, executive director Pierre Gfeller warned the MUHC’s monthly public meeting on Monday.

Gfeller, who was appointed head of the public hospital network in May, attributed part of the projected deficit to the high cost of certain cancer drugs. However, he also acknowledged for the first time that the MUHC superhospital’s indoor parking lot — which at one point charged the highest parking rates of any hospital in the province — is a financial bust and is contributing to the deficit as well.

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“The many drivers of this year-to-date deficit at the present moment include oncology drugs,” Gfeller said during a presentation to the board. “There’s been the development of new types of drugs, which are called immunotherapy for certain types of cancer, which are very effective and very costly.