HALIFAX - A federal election would stall funding decisions on two major projects in Nova Scotia, Premier Darrell Dexter warned Wednesday.
Dexter said he hoped to hear from Ottawa soon on potential funding for a downtown convention centre in Halifax and a request for a loan guarantee to back the proposed $6.2-billion Lower Churchill hydroelectric deal with Newfoundland and Labrador.
"We're hopeful that we are going to hear from them before (federal) budget day," Dexter told reporters.
The premier said that under federal election rules, any funding decisions would be placed on hold over the period of an election.
"Either one of the projects, it (a delay) affects the ability of them to arrange financing and to maintain pricing," Dexter said.
The federal budget is scheduled to be tabled on Tuesday, but the Liberals could try to defeat the Conservative government the day before using a possible opposition day motion or a vote on an unrelated money bill.
There's been no indication to date from Ottawa about any pending decision on the Lower Churchill loan guarantee or on a joint request by Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador for $375 million in funding for a subsea power cable connecting the two provinces.
Derrick Sturge, an executive with Newfoundland's Crown-owned utility Nalcor Energy, said while the loan guarantee would help with project costs, it's not a make-or-break proposition.
"A federal guarantee would bring value to our customers ... but I think the key message is we're proceeding with or without," said Sturge.
Meanwhile, timing appears to be more critical for the proposed $159-million Halifax convention centre project, with a mid-April deadline set by developer Rank Inc.
Last week, Nova Scotia Infrastructure Minister Bill Estabrooks travelled to Ottawa to convey a sense of urgency to his federal counterpart, Chuck Strahl.
Estabrooks later told reporters that he felt a decision was imminent, although he admitted he didn't get a firm timeline.
The province and the municipality have agreed to contribute $56 million each toward the project and are looking to the federal government to contribute $47 million from the Building Canada Fund.
