Tim Houston hopeful for 'adult discussion' with Ottawa on Chignecto Isthmus, Atlantic Loop

As the application deadline nears for federal disaster mitigation funding to protect the land that connects Nova Scotia to New Brunswick, Premier Tim Houston says he and Premier Blaine Higgs will meet with federal Infrastructure Minister Dominic LeBlanc to have an "adult discussion" about it.

The meeting is set to take place on Monday, two days before the July 19 application is due.

CBC News has learned it will be a face-to-face meeting in Moncton before the annual meeting of the Atlantic growth strategy leadership group, which is made up of the four Atlantic premiers and the federal ministers from the Atlantic provinces.

Houston wants Ottawa to pay for the entire cost of protecting the Chignecto Isthmus, which is more vulnerable to storms and flooding due to climate change. The project to improve and strengthen the dike system is estimated to cost $400 million. The funding from Ottawa would cover half the cost.

"We're preparing for whatever outcome falls out of the meeting, but our main interest is getting the work done," Houston told reporters on Thursday.

Houston said an application for the funding is ready to go, but that it would "not be a good outcome for Nova Scotians" or the country. He reiterated the province is willing to take Ottawa to court over it. 

"The federal government, what they're signalling here with their stance on the isthmus specifically, I think, is just symptomatic of the way they view their responsibility to maintain nationally significant infrastructure to have the foresight to invest in nationally important projects, roads, trains, energy," Houston said.

"... This is their responsibility and if they force Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to go to court and apply under the existing programs, well that's money that can't be used for a whole series of other projects that are important."

LeBlanc's office responds

In a statement, a spokesperson for LeBlanc said the protection of the Chignecto Isthmus is "a shared responsibility between the Government of Canada, the Government of New Brunswick and the Government of Nova Scotia."

"It is inaccurate to pretend that the Government of Canada has a constitutional responsibility to maintain the provincially-owned highway that runs through the Isthmus, or to compare this situation to an article of Confederation negotiated by some other Province at the time they joined Canada," the statement read.

"It is unfortunate that Premier Houston and Premier Higgs are threatening a legal battle which would be a waste of time and public funds. Such a move does nothing to protect communities and critical supply lines along the Isthmus. We urge the provinces to apply for federal funding by July 19, 2023, so we can protect the Isthmus for future generations."

Atlantic Loop on the table

Houston said another major project, the Atlantic Loop, will also likely come up at the meeting with LeBlanc. That project, estimated to cost $7.5 billion, would expand the electrical grid connections between Quebec and New Brunswick and New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to provide greater access to renewable electricity, including hydroelectricity from Quebec. 

Houston said his government is serious about greening the grid, but added his concerns about that project are the same.

"We could bankrupt our province and I'm not willing to do that," Houston said.

Protecting food security

Nova Scotia Liberal Leader Zach Churchill said both the Atlantic Loop and the Chignecto Isthmus projects need to be completed.

"We lose our access to food if we lose the isthmus and the premier is playing politics over this instead of actually getting the job done for Nova Scotians. There's federal money on the table right now that he's saying no to," Churchill said.

Nova Scotia NDP Leader Claudia Chender said she hopes the premier will start collaborating with Ottawa instead of fighting.

"The question of who pays and how much is a real one," Chender said. "But we have heard this premier say many times that money is no object for the goals of this province. Certainly one of the goals of this province should be protecting food security and another should be meeting our climate commitments."