N.B., N.S. premiers ask Ottawa for isthmus funding, but unhappily

The premiers of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have reluctantly agreed to apply for shared federal funding to shore up the Chignecto Isthmus, a key transportation corridor threatened by climate change. 

But Blaine Higgs and Tim Houston say they're not accepting that Ottawa will only pay for half the project and will still go to court to argue it should cover the entire cost, now estimated at $650 million.

The two Progressive Conservative premiers have been in a war of words with the federal Liberal government for more than a year over whose responsibility it is to reinforce the road, rail and telecommunications infrastructure linking New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

The federal government offered to fund up to half the project, and until Tuesday it wasn't clear if the two provinces would even apply for funding on that basis.

"Yes, we will be applying for it to meet the deadlines that have been put forward," Higgs said at a news conference. 

"At the same time we will be seeking clarification and a legal interpretation of the Constitution." 

Houston said his government will file a reference case with the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal to argue that Ottawa is obligated to pay the full cost of the project. 

He said other provinces will likely intervene in that case. Reference rulings are non-binding.

"This is a nationally significant trade corridor," Houston said. "I don't believe there's disagreement on the significance of it, but I think there's a little bit of difference of opinion on who should pay. I believe it should be a priority of the federal government." 

The two premiers spoke following an Atlantic Growth Strategy meeting of federal and provincial politicians from the region.

The deadline for the two provinces to file their applications to the federal Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund is 4 p.m. AT Wednesday.

"The federal government has dug in," Houston said. "They said 'No [to paying the full cost], apply under the program for half.' So we'll do that."

An estimated $35 billion in trade each year crosses the isthmus, which is protected from the Bay of Fundy tides by dikes and aboiteaux built centuries ago.

A 2018 report found that 70 per cent of the dikes in Nova Scotia are vulnerable to a one-in-50-years storm. Sea levels in the province are projected to increase by as much as a metre by 2100.