Premier Darrell Dexter announced his government’s tentative support for a new trade and convention centre for downtown Halifax yesterday. But that support doesn’t come with a cheque.
Dexter stressed that all three levels of government still need to determine the funding arrangement with developer Rank Inc. “(The support) is contingent entirely on this being a shared level of responsibility between the three levels of government,” Dexter told reporters.
Despite the ambiguity, the announcement showed the province is at least willing to help fund the $159-million facility.
Dexter said he spoke with HRM Mayor Peter Kelly yesterday, and committed to providing whatever information the municipality needed to make a decision.
“(Kelly) just stressed that he wanted get all the information he needed to get the package to council as soon as possible,” said Dexter.
Kelly, however, refused to speculate on the issue before council hears a report on the trade centre next week.
“The devil is in the details,” Kelly said. “We want to see the specific ask, which we don’t have yet, and then we’ll be able to respond accordingly.”
The federal government will be asked to contribute $46 million.
