$130M approved for N.S. road work, purchases during campaign
NDP, Liberals say MacDonald was wrong to blame them for holding up work
Last Updated: Thursday, May 14, 2009 | 3:37 PM ET
CBC News
Rodney MacDonald said Thursday he had no choice but to seek the special warrant for funding. (CBC)The province has approved $130 million in capital spending to allow paving and other contracts to proceed during the election campaign.
Nova Scotia Premier Rodney MacDonald said Thursday he regrets having to go to cabinet for the extraordinary spending, but he had no choice.
The move unlocks tenders that were put on hold after MacDonald's minority Tory government collapsed on May 4, before a budget could be passed.
Throughout the campaign, MacDonald has said the failure of his budget threatened hundreds of millions of dollars in new spending.
"In fact, it was interrupted, and it did stop," he said Thursday.
"Now, because of the step we are taking, we are making sure we get through the next few weeks. But we still have a major problem with ensuring the rest of the capital plan continuing to move forward. You cannot continue to move forward on warrants when you don't have a budget passed."
Under the Provincial Finance Act, the government can only spend up to 50 per cent of the previous year's appropriation without a budget.
The NDP and Liberals say the premier was wrong to blame them when he knew he could use a special warrant to free up $130 million.
NDP Leader Darrell Dexter said he has no problem with the government's use of the warrant, just with the timeline.
"I was getting email from people wondering if their projects were going to be stopped because of the delay in tendering," said Dexter. "So it created quite a lot of concern among people who had expectations that this work would be done in a timely fashion."
Liberal Leader Stephen McNeil considers it a "flip flop" by the Tories.
"He knew all along that he could have responded to this crisis with these special warrants, and he was holding the jobs of Nova Scotians at bay because he was using them for political advantage," said McNeil.
The special warrant for $130 million brings the total tangible capital assets spending to $300 million.
What specific projects are covered haven't been announced, but the government says they include schools, roads, land and equipment purchases.
Finance Minister Jamie Muir admits the government started the process last Friday, as the premier was lashing out at the opposition for the "suffering" they caused Nova Scotians.
Muir said the departments were asked for a list of projects that were at risk of stalling without immediate funding, and then cabinet made the decision for the special warrant on Tuesday.
Nova Scotians head to the polls on June 9.
With files from The Canadian Press
