Premier Blaine Higgs has threatened to take the federal government to court if it doesn’t agree to cover 100% of the cost of the Chignecto Isthmus protection project. The premier made the statement in a letter to federal infrastructure minister Dominic LeBlanc on July 4.

However in the same letter, the premier also reserves the right to agree to a hypothetical two-thirds federal funding formula.

Higgs’ letter is in response to one from LeBlanc on June 23, denying the assertion by Higgs and his Nova Scotia counterpart, Tim Houston, that the project should be fully funded by Canada, and setting a deadline of July 19 for the provinces to apply for 50% funding under a federal climate adaptation fund.

In his July 4 letter, Higgs writes that he was profoundly disappointed with LeBlanc’s letter. “Your government’s refusal to recognize and act upon its constitutional responsibility for this project will have negative ramifications for this vital transportation gateway and the Canadians it serves,” writes Higgs.

The premier goes on to say that the Constitution Act of 1867 outlines the responsibility of the federal government to “maintain and secure transportation links between provinces.” Because the Isthmus supports major transportation and communications infrastructure, Higgs argues that the protection of the land bridge also qualifies as a federal responsibility.

“If the federal government refuses to accept its constitutional responsibility in this manner, it will be up to the governments of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to ask the courts to enforce our nation’s supreme law,” writes Higgs.

Higgs indicates that Houston has also written to LeBlanc with the same message. CHMA has requested a copy of the Nova Scotia premier’s letter.

Although Higgs says it is the intent of the two provinces to pursue “a court decision on the constitutional question,” he also reserves the right to pursue a two thirds federal funding settlement with Ottawa.

In his letter, Higgs asks Leblanc to commit $200 million to the project, a number which the federal minister had previously mentioned as the rough estimate for the federal contribution.

Existing cost estimates for the project range from $190 million to $300 million based on an engineering report commissioned in 2019, and first publicly released in 2022. It’s not clear how accurate those estimates are today, or what the projected costs would be after the five years that the report predicts it would take to actually get to the construction phase of the project.

In addition to a federal commitment to the first $200 million in costs, Higgs also asks LeBlanc to promise to cover two thirds of any amount over $300 million for the total project. That essentially works out to a two-thirds funding commitment overall.

Higgs puts forward the two-thirds funding suggestion, but then writes, “this would be against the better judgement of our government and the interests of New Brunswickers. Our preference continues to be that the Government of Canada fulfills its constitutional obligation to cover the full cost of this project.”

CHMA has reached out to Dominic LeBlanc’s office to hear his reaction.

‘Delay tactics and politics being played’

The impasse over funding of the Isthmus protection project has prompted a collective message from two MLAs of different political stripes from two different provinces. New Brunswick Green Party MLA Megan Mitton and former Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative (now independent) MLA Elizabeth Smith McCrossin issued a joint news release on Monday calling on the provinces to stop ignoring the risk of catastrophic flooding of the Chignecto Isthmus.

“My problem is that there are delay tactics and politics being played,” says Mitton, “and my community is at risk.”

Mitton says she has been working ‘for over a decade’ on the increased risk that rising sea levels and increasing storm intensity and frequency cause along the Isthmus.

“I am not concerned with the exact percentage that each government pays,” says Mitton. Rather, Mitton says she’s focused on the potential for the funding discussion to further stall the project. “There have been delays,” says Mitton. “The report took a long time. Everything is taking a long time and we don’t know if we have that time to spare. Any year we could have the dikes breach and have a major catastrophic flood here.”

Mitton cites examples of other catastrophes, such as floods in New Orleans in 2005, and Abbotsford in 2021, the latter of which caused “an estimated $2 billion in damage to properties, homes and city infrastructure,” according to The Abbotsford News.

“We are in the same boat as those areas,” says Mitton. “We want to avoid what happened there.”

Mitton says she supports the call from the Atlantic Mayors Congress, which last month issued a statement recommending the formation of a steering committee to oversee and spearhead the project, with representation from the federal and two provincial governments as well as municipalities.

Mitton is also hoping the whoever takes on the project will listen to experts on coastal erosion and ecosystems. “There isn’t a final plan yet,” says Mitton. “I’m pushing for there to still be consideration of what is the best path forward? And can we listen to experts?”

Hear Megan Mitton on Tantramar Report: