Premier Susan Holt tried to defend her government’s plan to put toll booths on the Trans-Canada highway at Aulac near the Nova Scotia border as she answered persistent questions from Tantramar Councillor Allison Butcher and several of her council colleagues during a wide-ranging discussion on Wednesday, August 19 that lasted just over nine minutes.
“I am not sure if you’re aware, but Sackville, Cumberland, Amherst, Strait Shores, we’re really intertwined,” Butcher told Holt.
“There are many people who live here and work there and vice versa, where we share family members,” Butcher said, adding that two of her four siblings live in Amherst.
“People move back and forth across that [border] daily for work, for enjoyment, for business, all of that,” she continued.
“We saw what a huge difference it made for us when it was closed because of COVID,” Butcher said.
She added that she realized New Brunswick residents would not pay the tolls themselves, but they would affect families, businesses, people going back and forth for work and health care and even custody arrangements affecting children.
“Is there anything in the works to protect these people?” she asked.
Friends and family passes
“There are some things in the works, but I think there’s an opportunity for some creativity here,” Holt replied.
She suggested the Nova Scotia health authority could issue toll passes for professionals who work in Sackville but live in Amherst while New Brunswick could consider the concept of a friend and family pass or good neighbour’s pass.
“Something that’s dramatically less expensive,” Holt said, “you know a cost of, I shouldn’t even throw out numbers, like it’s $50 a year and that just gets you covered.”
“With all due respect, we don’t pay $50 now and there are many people living in our communities for whom $50 could make a huge difference,” Butcher shot back.
“We have university students travelling back and forth, we have the Irving Big Stop on the border. My daughter works there and she has as many co-workers from Amherst as from Sackville,” she said.
Butcher added that it may be fine for the Nova Scotia government to pay for health care workers’ passes, but what about patients who need to cross the border to get knee surgeries or other procedures at the Sackville hospital that the community here fought so hard to save.
“The cost of their tolls can get covered if that’s what you mean,” Holt replied.
‘Best location’
Mayor Debbie Wiggins-Colwell wondered if the government had considered installing the toll booths in Salisbury to avoid the disruptions they would cause to the closely knit communities on either side of the border.
“I believe that multiple locations were evaluated and this one was determined to be the best location where there was an alternate route,” Holt answered.
“You have to have an alternate route, that’s a requirement,” the premier said.
When Butcher asked about that alternate route, both Holt and Tantramar Chief Administrative Officer Jennifer Borne said it would be Route 970, the 11.4 kilometre road that connects a Nova Scotia highway at Tidnish Bridge to New Brunswick routes 15 and 16 at Port Elgin.
“It’s not even shouldered,” Borne said. “It’s not adequate at all.”
“I think there’s lots of ways that we can work out options,” Holt said as the discussion returned to the effects on intertwined communities.
She suggested residents who live near the border could be issued friends and family toll passes to give to their friends and family in Nova Scotia.
“The toll proposals have been kicking around for ages as ways to help us pay for infrastructure,” the premier said.
Borne suggested that trying to administer friends and family passes would be “a bit of a mess” because of everyone potentially claiming connections and she wondered about the financial impact of these passes on the $10 million the government is hoping to raise in toll revenues.
“We’ve just tried to recover from local governance reform,” Borne said.
“There’s fiscal reform, there’s property tax reform, so we’re going to tackle all of it,” she added before referring to the effects tolls would have on Tantramar.
“When you look at just these two themes, the economic impact, the social impact, mental impact on our community, we will not survive it.”
“So what are your suggestions?” Holt asked quietly.
“Not yours,” Borne replied as everyone around the table laughed.
This is the second of three reports on Tantramar council’s meeting with Premier Holt. Warktimes was able to attend the meeting after Holt said she had no objection because this was council’s meeting and it was up to them to decide who could attend.
