It seems the question of who will pay to rebuild Halifax's Victoria General Hospital still has not been answered.
Nova Scotia Health Minister Leo Glavine says he's not sure whether the federal government will kick in infrastructure funding to replace the hospital.
“We haven't had an answer back, to be quite frank,” said Glavine.
But NDP MLA Dave Wilson says it didn't take long for him to get an answer from federal Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi.
In a letter, the minister says, “Unfortunately hospitals are not eligible under current infrastructure programs.”
“This is going to cost hundreds of millions of dollars,” said Wilson. “I would hope that the federal government recognizes the importance of this project.”
The federal minister did not say whether hospitals could be part of the $60 billion in new funding that will be announced in the 2016 budget.
And it seems the province has no more insight.
“We're hopeful and we've made that pitch, that suggestion that hospitals should be included,” said Nova Scotia Infrastructure Minister Geoff MacLellan.
MacLellan says he's not ruling out any options, but talk of funding models will have to wait until plans are ready.
“We're talking with stakeholders including health professionals, the private sector,” said MacLellan. “We're going to get the VG done, we're going to plan it properly. It's going to be exactly what's needed.”
Opposition PC Leader Jamie Baillie says it's time for action.
“The message from the Liberals in Ottawa is, Nova Scotia, you're on your own,” said Baillie. “And so now we're looking to Premier McNeil to tell us what the plan is.”
The provincial government had promised to release its plan for the VG rebuild by mid-January, but that hasn’t happened. Minister MacLellan says it's not the federal budget that's holding things up.
“Their budget rollout and how they do this and what decisions they make in terms of criteria does not affect the VG plan in any way shape or form,” said MacLellan.
Minister MacLellan is meeting with Minister Sohi in April and says he will be making Nova Scotia’s pitch at that time.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Sarah Ritchie.