Feds tell N.S. and N.B. to pay half of Chignecto Isthmus mitigation costs 'before it is too late'

The federal government says it will move on to fund other projects if the New Brunswick and Nova Scotia provincial governments don’t accept a 50/50 split in mitigation costs at the Chignecto Isthmus.

The narrow 24-kilometre strip of land connecting the borders of both provinces includes the Trans-Canada Highway and CN Rail line – both of which are only slightly above sea level.

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston and New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs want the federal government to pay for the entire project. The federal government says it will pay $325 million – half of the project’s projected costs – through its Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund program.

In a letter from Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Minister Sean Fraser to Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston dated Sept. 16, Fraser says “your government is refusing to be part of the solution as you believe that the project is purely a federal responsibility.”

“If Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are not willing to share half of the cost of the project, the project will be ineligible and I will be required to re-allocate the funding to other communities who are willing and ready to partner,” writes Fraser in the letter. “Such a result would be obviously disappointing.”

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Fraser was responding to a letter sent the day before by Houston, where Nova Scotia’s premier writes “we feel very strongly that this is a responsibility of the Federal Government.”

Premier Houston calls the letter from Fraser “a direct threat.”

“To think that the Liberal caucus is okay with threatening Nova Scotia is not something I can get my head around,” says Houston.

In his letter sent Sept. 15, Houston includes a list of provincial infrastructure projects he says would be jeopardized under the federal funding program, including a $50-million seawall along the Halifax waterfront.

“This has backed us into a corner and forced Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to turn to the courts,” writes Houston.

In response to the letter, Fraser writes, “what is clear from your letter is not only that you want the federal government to do its part, but that you want the federal government to do Nova Scotia’s part as well.”

“My view is that sometimes, and indeed in this instance, both levels of government have a role to play in advancing solutions, and that we would get further by partnering to do the work than we would by seeking to blame one another when it becomes politically convenient,” writes Fraser.

Proponents of the federal government footing all the remediation costs point to the Champlain Bridge project in Montreal, which was funded by Ottawa.

“The federal government traditionally pays for projects of national significance, so why are they trying to get away with only paying half? They should do what’s right,” says Houston.

A letter dated Sept. 16 was also sent from Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc to New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs, asking for the province to agree with the 50/50 cost split.

Both LeBlanc and Fraser’s letters conclude by saying “partner with us before it is too late.”

The letter from LeBlanc to Higgs is comparatively shorter in length, and different in tone, but still pushes the province to share costs.

Premier Higgs responded with his own letter issued late Tuesday afternoon, writing “without prejudice to our decision on your proposal, it is our intent to jointly pursue with the Government of Nova Scotia a court decision on the constitutional question.”

“I understand that Premier Houston of Nova Scotia has also written to you on this topic. It will be clear to you that we stand united on this issue.”

Any mitigation work at the Chignecto Isthmus could take a decade or longer to complete.

In June, a Senate bill declared the Chignecto Isthmus Dykelands System for the “general advantage of Canada” in a 55-10 vote.