HALIFAX -- The Nova Scotia government says it's too soon to say who will pay to remove a construction crane that was blown down during post-tropical storm Dorian.
The province has declared a localized state of emergency in part of downtown Halifax in order to speed up removal of the crane.
Labour Minister Labi Kousoulis said last week the step shifted the liability for potential damage during the crane's removal to the province.
He said this was necessary because it was taking the building's developer and the crane's owner too long to get private insurance.
In a release provided today by the province's Transportation Department, the province says once the project is complete, the government will make every effort to recover its costs.
However, the department adds "it is too early to say which party or parties" it will seek to recover those costs from.
The province said it still doesn't have a cost estimate and it expects the timelines will change as the work begins.
Mark Reynolds, a senior structural engineer with Harbourside Engineering Consultants Ltd., has said the crane's removal presents a challenge because almost every piece of it is damaged in some way.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 25, 2019.
