Provinces to split cost of Chignecto Isthmus project with federal government

The federal government has agreed to split the costs of the Chignecto Isthmus project with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

A $650 million project that will protect the Chignecto Isthmus from climate change disasters was a long time coming for Tantramar Mayor Andrew Black.

“It just felt like it was never going to happen,” said Black.

It was announced Thursday that the federal government, along with the governments of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, have agreed to split the project 50/50.

The two provinces will pay $162.5 million each, $325 million in total. Ottawa will pay the rest.

The project will raise the dike land in the marsh to decrease the risk of flooding amid storm surges and sea level rise.

Both provinces, along with Prince Edward Island, have long argued the federal government should foot the bill for the entire project and the case is being heard by the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal.

“We kept shouting into the void trying to make people understand the importance of this. So the news was surprising, but I’m incredibly happy that it’s happened,” said Black.

The project is expected to take ten years.

Black said five years of that will be study and preparation before shovels are in the ground.

“I think people will still be hanging on to hope that the dike doesn’t breach on the next storm, but I think it does alleviate some fears of citizens here in Tantramar that something will be done to protect our municipality,” said Black.

The Isthmus is a narrow 24-kilometre strip of mostly marshland land that connects the two provinces.

It also includes the Trans-Canada Highway, CN Rail line, electrical transmission lines and fibre-optical cables.

There’s around 35 kilometres of dikes that protect roads, railways, farms and the communities of Sackville, N.B. and Amherst, N.S.

Amherst Deputy Mayor Hal Davidson said all parties are putting the national good before political interests.

“If those dikes were to flood, we’re looking at 25 to 33 per cent of Amherst could be under water,” said Davidson. “This is a huge decision. Not only for our community, but also for the community of Tantramar and the municipality of Cumberland. It’s huge for our area.”

Davidson said the highways and railways in the area are a national corridor.

“There’s $35 billion a year of goods that are going through our area, so it’s a win, win, win all way around,” said Davidson.

It’s also good news for local businesses, especially restaurants and hotels.

Kris Reid, manager of the Travelodge in Amherst, said he assumes many of the construction workers will stay with them during construction.

“It’s good for the entire region,” said Reid.

A big part of their business is tourism, but Reid said construction workers keep them going during the off-season.

“We use a number of our rooms specifically for construction projects that are going on in Cumberland and the Tantramar area. We have a few rooms that have been offline for at least a year that will now be renovated to accommodate even more construction and development people,” said Reid.

“It’s going to create an incredible amount of work. Our hotels, motels, businesses, everybody will benefit,” said Davidson.

Black said he’s been an advocate for the project for close to a decade and even sat in on a senate hearing in Ottawa on behalf of the municipality. He said if the centuries-old dikes were to burst in a worst-case scenario, it would be a catastrophe for farmers and their land.

“It would be a huge, huge hit to our agricultural community,” said Black. “If it was inundated with salt water it could be unusable for generations.”

Nova Scotia Public Works Minister Fred Tilley said his province was taking a “Team Canada approach” to coming up with a solution.

“Protecting Nova Scotia’s main connection to the rest of Canada has never been more important,” said Tilley in a statement. “We’re putting the interests of our country first.”

-With files from Canadian Press