Ottawa may fund study of Labrador fixed link
A report that Ottawa will help fund a $325,000 study on building a fixed link between the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador has drawn both surprise and criticism.
John Efford, federal Natural Resources Minister and the province's federal cabinet representative, said he was startled to find out that the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) has apparently agreed to pay 80 per cent of the cost of the initial study for the link across the Strait of Belle Isle.
Efford said he wanted to talk to Premier Danny Williams and officials from ACOA before he gives his blessing to the federal share.
"I was surprised to see in the papers that it is a done deal. And I saw a quote there from the former minister ... Gerry Byrne," he said. "But I've got to talk to the officials at ACOA to see exactly what's happening here, because I haven't signed off on anything."
Efford said he's not saying it will never happen, just that the idea has to be looked at "extremely carefully."
Media reports this week said the federal and provincial governments will fund what's called a pre-feasibility study. The province is expected to announce later this week that it will pay the other 20 per cent after Ottawa kicks in its 80 per cent.
Premier Danny Williams is a supporter of the fixed link between Labrador and the island of Newfoundland, including it as one of his campaign promises in last fall's provincial election.
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But Wally Anderson, the provincial opposition transportation critic, said Williams does not have his priorities right.
"There are so many things right now that need to be done in Labrador to keep things moving on a day-to-day basis that a tunnel or a fixed link is way, way down on people's agenda," said Anderson, a Liberal representing the provincial riding of Torngat Mountains.
Anderson said a tunnel would mostly benefit people from Quebec or the Island, not those from Labrador.
He added that Williams clearly sees the idea as a way to get Labrador resources out of the region, not as a way to help the people of Labrador. He blamed that on the fact that there is no one from Labrador in the provincial cabinet to advise Williams on what's really important to people in the region.
As part of the pre-feasibility study, engineers hired by the Centre for Policy Research at Memorial University will look at existing information to determine what can be built across the Strait of Belle Isle. The possibilities include:
- an underground tunnel;
- a causeway; or
- a combination of both.
If the Newfoundland and Labrador pre-feasibility study is positive, the next step is a full feasibility and impact study that's expected to cost millions.
Although no one has come up with an estimate of how much the link might cost, the final price tag for the Confederation Bridge linking Prince Edward Island to mainland Canada at New Brunswick in 1997 was $1 billion. That money should be recovered through tolls over the next three decades.
The shortest possible distance that a link would have to span across the Strait of Belle Isle would be about 17 kilometres. By comparison, the Confederation Bridge is 12.9 kilometres long.