Nova Scotia premier wants equal treatment for isthmus after feds buy Quebec bridge

HALIFAX — Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston called on Ottawa Thursday to apply consistent criteria in the funding of important transportation links, saying needs should be assessed the same in every region of the country.

Houston was reacting to Ottawa’s announcement Wednesday that it is acquiring the Quebec Bridge and spending $1 billion over the next 25 years to repair, repaint and maintain the span.

Houston said he’s encouraged to hear the federal government believes the bridge is an important regional connector, adding that the Chignecto Isthmus also meets that criterion.

“When I hear about the importance of that particular piece of infrastructure to the movement of goods and people I like that because so is the Isthmus,” the premier told reporters in Halifax following a cabinet meeting.

Both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick want the federal government to foot the bill for an estimated $650-million project to strengthen the dike system and rail line along the vital land corridor between the two provinces to protect against rising sea levels.

Ottawa has only said it will cover half the cost, and last July the Nova Scotia government began legal proceedings to determine if the federal government has exclusive responsibility to maintain structures along the corridor.

Houston said Canada’s premiers welcome all federal investments in infrastructure and hope the Quebec Bridge purchase provides “some lens” on how Ottawa evaluates such projects.

But when asked whether he was trying to walk a line so as not to appear to be bashing a project for Quebec, Houston was emphatic, saying, “That’s not my line to walk.”

“I’m interested in the criteria that they (Ottawa) use to make these decisions, and if they have different criteria for different regions of the country then they should just say that,” he said. “If they have the same criteria for every region of the country then the Chignecto Isthmus is a slam dunk and I look forward to hearing from the federal government.”

Houston added that the delay in full funding for the Isthmus was “embarrassing for our (Nova Scotia) Liberal members of Parliament.”

During a stop in New Brunswick Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recognized the importance of the Isthmus to Canada, but did not directly address whether his government would pay the entire cost of the project.

“It’s a key corridor for trade, for people, connecting the country,” Trudeau said. “These are things that we will always step up for. We recognize the challenges of the increased impact of climate change and we have programs to step up and work with provinces on projects of significance like this.”

Trudeau added that governments need to do everything they can to fight against climate change and he took the opportunity to call on Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to “actually step up” and drop their opposition to the federal carbon pricing plan.

“We don’t need to make pollution free again, we need to fight climate change,” he said.

Nova Scotia’s Minister of Public Work Kim Masland, who issued a scathing statement following Wednesday’s Quebec Bridge announcement, repeated her assertion that Ottawa was neglecting Nova Scotia while favouring other provinces.

“We in the province of Nova Scotia just want to be treated fairly, it’s not that the Quebec project is not important,” said Masland.

The minister also expressed frustration that her department hasn’t heard back from Ottawa since applying last July for Isthmus funding under the federal Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund, and she dismissed the notion that it was because of her province’s court case.

Meanwhile, Nova Scotia’s opposition Liberals and NDP accused the premier of “playing politics” and urged both levels of government to get a deal together to bolster the Isthmus.

“This issue is too critical to mess around like that, people just need to see this work start and the money get allocated,” said Liberal Leader Zach Churchill.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2024.

Keith Doucette, The Canadian Press