Apparently, premier Darrell Dexter was on CTV news tonight, and said that his office opposes changes to the land use bylaws that make the new terminal possible. (See here for more detail.)
You'll recall that after initial plans to have the Bridge Terminal travel alongside Nantucket Street were met by complaints from nearby Dartmouth High School, the city changed the orientation of the terminal to run perpendicular from Nantucket, across to Thistle Street. The new plan reduced the size of the terminal from 6 to 3 acres, and moved it farther away from the school.
But apparently, Dexter has raised procedural issues. No one at HRM-- and I've talked to several councillors, the mayor Peter Kelly, CAO Dan English, and others-- seems to quite understand the objection, or why it's raised at such a late date. As Kelly noted, the province could've raised any objections at any time through the process. The city is now well into its plans, and hopes to start construction by fall.
Dan English will meet with Kevin Malloy, the deputy minister of Service Nova Scotia, tomorrow to attempt to iron out differences.