Confusion. Uncertainty. Lack of communication.

Just another day on the Lister Block file.

Here's the latest bend in the twisty tale.

As expected, the Ontario government has now given Hamilton council permission to use the $7-million provincial grant to offset the cost of buying the Lister rather than just leasing it.

The catch is, councillors only have until June 30 to finalize a deal with the developers.

Or do they?

June 30 is the date stipulated in the letter from Municipal Affairs Minister Jim Watson to Mayor Fred Eisenberger.

And June 30 is the deadline city finance manager Joe Rinaldo has communicated to councillors.

But Liberal MPP Ted McMeekin, Hamilton's voice in the McGuinty cabinet, has a different interpretation.

McMeekin says council actually has until the end of the year -- Dec. 31-- to fully complete a deal.

The difference between the two deadlines could be crucial.

If the Lister rebuild is to go forward, councillors want a binding agreement that the project will include a second phase involving the construction of two high-end condo-style towers for seniors behind the downtown heritage building.

Warren Green, president of Hi-Rise, which is partnering with LIUNA on the Lister project, says there's no way he can ink that kind of complex deal with the city and Kingsway Arms, the retirement home developers, by June 30.

"In this day and age, that's a short timeline for a simple deal," Green says. "This deal is far from simple, and we're already in March.

"Doing it within the framework of the end of June is going to be beyond daunting."

However, if the actual deadline is Dec. 31, Green says that's an entirely different story.

"That would be doable."

So what is the real date?

McMeekin notes the province has indeed given the city until June 30 to sign a purchase deal for the Lister in order to keep the $7 million.

But he says -- and a spokesman for Watson confirms -- that the terms and conditions of that deal don't have to be finalized until Dec. 31.

"We've added that as a further supplement assistance to the city," McMeekin says. "We're trying to make this happen and we're bending over backwards."

The December deadline suggests the city could, in theory, sign a purchase agreement for the Lister in June conditional on, among other things, Hi-Rise securing an agreement with Kingsway to build the two towers.

If an agreement with Kingsway hasn't been finalized by December, presumably the city could then walk away from buying Lister.

Patrick Byrne, president and CEO of Kingsway Arms, did not return calls.

But Green is confident he can sign a deal with the Vaughan-based retirement home operators.

"I don't think there will be a problem getting a commitment from Kingsway," he says. "Kingsway is pretty committed to go forward with this."

The confusion over the purchasing deadlines may stem from the simple fact Watson's letter to Eisenberger was purely political and not intended to be the last word on the subject.

It's clear that Rinaldo still hadn't been given the full contract details from the province when he notified council of the June deadline.

It's also true neither the city nor province has informed Green about either date. He's getting his information from The Spectator.

Still, Green didn't just fall off the turnip truck.

He knows it doesn't matter if the deadline is in June or December if council decides that, at $38.60 a square foot, the Lister project has grown too rich for them.

Remember, last month council voted 10 to 6 to keep talking. But several of those supporting votes are as crumbly as broken drywall.

Whether the province's deadlines will shore them up or weaken them could become clear as early as the March 26 council meeting.

Andrew Dreschel's commentary appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. adreschel@thespec.com or 905-526-3495.