Head of Atlantic mayors group alarmed over Chignecto Isthmus deadlock

Disagreements between different levels of government could cause delays in much-needed flood control work on the Chignecto Isthmus, says Amherst mayor, NS

David Kogon says he doesn’t care how an agreement between Ottawa and the governments of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick is reached, but officials need to move faster.

“Hurricane Fiona has scared everyone in this area as we realized that these storms are getting worse and more frequent,” says Kogon.

The isthmus is the only stretch of land connecting Nova Scotia to the rest of Canada and is at risk of flooding due to climate change as water levels rise.

A 2007 study by a United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change identified the Chignecto Isthmus as one of two vulnerable areas in North America.

‘Figure it out’

The Atlantic Mayors Congress voted unanimously earlier this month to urge all parties involved to reach a solution as soon as possible.

Congress president Kogon says that if Nova Scotia experienced another storm similar to Fiona’s during high tide and full moon, its community would be in a catastrophic situation.

That’s what Nova Scotia Prime Minister Tim Houston said last week the federal government has a constitutional responsibility to pay for the project, similar to the construction of the Confederation Bridge, which connects Prince Edward Island to New Brunswick.

However, Federal Infrastructure Secretary Dominic LeBlanc has said the bridge to PEI was unique because that county had been promised year-round transportation to the mainland as part of negotiations to enter the Confederacy.

The federal government has offered to cover half of the estimated $301 million cost of work on the isthmus, with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick sharing the other half. The deadline to apply for that funding is July 19.

“My message to governments, state and federal, would be, gentlemen, sit down at the table and sort it out so we can move forward and get the job done,” says Kogon.

‘It is going to happen’

Bill Casey, who has lived in Amherst all his life, says he has been passionate about upgrading the Chignecto Isthmus since the United Nations determined it was at risk of flooding.

Casey, who used to represent Cumberland-Colchester in parliament, says he has spoken to politicians at all levels about the need to repair the corridor before another nasty storm hits.

“It’s not a question of if, it’s just when,” he says. “It is going to happen.”

Communities far beyond Amherst would be affected, Casey says, and every industry in Atlantic Canada would be affected.

“What strikes me most is that Halifax will be the first casualty, because they have two huge container ports,” he says. “They handle 500,000 containers a year, every one of them going across this isthmus.”

A study published last March says raising the existing 35 kilometers of levees along the isthmus would cost $200 million; building a new levee would cost $189 million; and raising the existing levees and installing steel sheet piling at selected locations would cost approximately $301 million.

“They have to pick one and put the money aside and get it done,” says Casey. “We’re very lucky it hasn’t happened yet.”