tolls

A Nova Scotia MLA says the proposed toll highway in Aulac, New Brunswick is a ‘slap in the face’ for those living near the border and is calling on our country’s prime minister to put a stop it.

It was part of New Brunswick’s spring budget, to slap a $4 charge on the highway close to Cumberland County for those not from their province, in order to generate $10 million amid a $1.3 billion deficit.

In an interview with Acadia News, MLA for Cumberland North, Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin says people in that part of the province have a higher sense of frustration over the possible charge because of the Cobequid Pass.

“For 26 years the people in Cumberland County paid a toll on the other side of us just to access or own province,” explains Smith-McCrossin.

“People going for medical appointments or businesses transporting their lobsters or lumber to the port had to pay an extra toll.”

So, she says the charge in New Brunswick is not something they want and she will do all she can to prevent it from happening.

Cobequid Pass

Nova Scotia currently has a $4 charge of its own for those out of province along a stretch Highway 104 at the Cobequid Pass.

Smith-McCrossin also wants to see those tolls removed as well.

“The fact that our own legislation here in Nova Scotia states the tolls should have been removed back in 2021 is enough,” explains Smith-McCrossin. “I think it would be a good pathway for our premier to take that step.”

In addition to that, it would make it a ‘little harder’ for the New Brunswick leadership to justify the fee.

Smith-McCrossin says looks forward to possibly having a conversation about the tolls with New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt.

“I’m hoping she will meet with me,” says Smith-McCrossin. “I think she’s a very reasonable person.”

Pushing for action from Ottawa

Smith-McCrossin intends on adding pressure on the federal government to remove the tolls in New Brunswick and will be travelling to Ottawa for meetings in the near future.

“You can’t have a prime minister say he wants interprovincial barriers to be removed and then sit back and allow this to happen,” says Smith-McCrossin.

It was just last month when Prime Minister Mark Carney made it clear he was ‘not happy’ about the extra charge.

Tolls, Smith-McCrossin says, is a national issue.

“We have billions of dollars’ worth of goods that come in through the Halifax Port Authority, well as the Halifax Stanfield Airport, that are carried across our gateway here in Cumberland County,” explains Smith-McCrossin.

“We know $94 billion worth of good goes through [the Chignecto Isthmus] every year and people are receiving those goods. New Brunswick and the rest of Canada. So, ultimately it’s the consumer that does pay in the end.”

In the meantime, Smith-McCrossin says, the more people that speak up, the better.