MP Robert Goguen says Moncton downtown centre 'critical'
Conservative MP says if the Gallant government keeps 'throwing up road blocks' the project will fail
Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe Conservative MP Robert Goguen says a $107-million downtown sports and entertainment centre in Moncton is "critical" for the future of the city and for the province of New Brunswick.
"Let's state the obvious," Goguen said during an interview with Information Morning Moncton on Tuesday.
"The economic engine of the province of New Brunswick is greater Moncton. We need this project."
Goguen's comments come days after Premier Brian Gallant published an editorial about the future of a downtown centre.
The ball is in their court.- Conservative MP Robert Goguen
Gallant said his provincial government would not be rushed into a decision on funding the project and accused Goguen and the federal Conservatives of making "ambiguous, sometimes even contradictory statements" about what the federal commitment to the project will be.
Provincial Finance Minister Roger Melanson said no decision will be made on funding until there is a policy for funding such large-scale centres.
"When you, as a government, consider making some big investments, like this one and potentially others, around the province you need to be consistent, you need to have a provincial policy in place where things are well thought out and there's a solid return on investment and to see some strong job creation," Melanson said.
Like Gallant, Melanson also accused Goguen of being unclear in his promises of federal money.
"We know that the federal MP here says publicly that he's on board, but we haven't seen the money," said Melanson.
Goguen called that "laughable" and said it's the provincial government that isn't being transparent about its intentions.
"The players on the power play — the premier, [Health Minister] Victor Boudreau, Roger Melanson, and, of course, MP Dominic LeBlanc do not live in the Moncton area, they're not Moncton riding representatives so they're going to probably try to put investments where it will further their political possibilities," Goguen said.
"It's not very complicated."
Gallant represents the riding of Shediac Bay-Dieppe, Boudreau represents Shediac-Beaubassin-Cap-Pelé and Melanson represents Dieppe. LeBlanc is the MP for Beauséjour, which borders on Goguen's riding.
Just before the 2014 provincial election, the former Alward government announce provincial support for the $107-million sports and entertainment centre.
There is a federal election looming on Oct. 19.
Provincial government stalling project
"I can just keep pushing and certainly we're there for this project," he said.
He called the editorial by Gallant an attempt to deflect attention from the provincial government's failure to provide funding in a timely fashion and said the Gallant government is also preventing federal money from flowing to the city.
"They continue throwing up roadblocks for this project while they know that the timing is critical, it's getting to the point that it's either going to cost more money to build the project or it's going to fail," Goguen said.
He said it is no secret that Ottawa is willing to fund infrastructure projects in Moncton that would have otherwise been paid for by the city as a way of directing money to the downtown centre.
However, he said those applications are being held up by the provincial government.
"The way the infrastructure program works — the province submits the project — they advance the project, we consent to the project and once those projects have been signed off by the provincial and the federal government the monies become available," he said.
Goguen said the federal government is committed to finding the $23.5 million in funding that is needed for the project to go ahead.
"The ball is in their court," he said.