[mmmatt]

aint John Harbour Cleanup

Times & Transcript (Moncton)
Tue 20 Mar 2007


Shawn Graham's provincial Liberals will likely spur the feds into spending money on the Petitcodiac River remediation by setting up a trust fund as it did for the Saint John Harbour clean up, the premier said yesterday.

"We will be looking at a similar program that we put in place with the clean-up of the Saint John Harbour. This is a cost-shared agreement with the province of New Brunswick and the federal government. That's why it's so important that the federal government of Canada is an equal partner in the restoration of the Petitcodiac River and that's why we're going to be working diligently to get them to come on board," Graham said.

This was the first time Graham has spoken candidly about how the provincial government might try to convince the federal Conservative government to split the cost of fixing the river since the province has begun reviewing options to restore the river.

He was in Dieppe to announce a marketing campaign for a tuition rebate program, but questions about his latest budget, the future of the river and destination gaming dominated a scrum with the media.

Graham said yesterday that trust fund would likely take shape in his government's second budget next year.

"We'll be looking to the Government of Canada to sign off on (it) and then we would be looking at setting up money in a trust fund in our second budget that could be used as a tool to entice the federal government to become an equal partner as well," Graham said.

The causeway and dam between Moncton and Riverview that blocks the tidal flow of the river has been ruled illegal because it prevents fish passage.

An environmental impact assessment that analyzed what to do about the 40-year-old structure suggests four options and also says that the status quo cannot be allowed to continue.

The Petitcodiac Riverkeeper organization has continuously lobbied for removal of part of the causeway, which would be replaced by a bridge.

For his part, Graham said his government is committed to making a decision and fixing the problem.

"Our government is committed to the restoration of the Petitcodiac River. It was in our Charter for Change platform and our government has seen the most movement on this file," he said.

However, Graham stopped short of saying the issue could be addressed this year, since he acknowledged the provincial budget last week contained no mention of a timeline for remediation, nor any committed funds in 2007-08.

"We have to be realistic. Our first commitment was to the clean up the Saint John harbour which we moved on in day one of our mandate. With that task now under way we're going to be focusing our energies on the second environmental issue that has to be addressed in the province and that is the restoration of the Petitcodiac River, " he said.

Finance Minister Victor Boudreau, also in Dieppe to announce the new marketing campaign, said he couldn't offer any timeframes for the project.

"This is a big file. These four options, we're talking obviously tens of millions of dollars and we have to look at which option is best for all concerned," he said.

The Saint John harbour clean-up is being funded partly by the federal government, through the Canada Strategic Infrastructure fund, and partly by the province through a trust fund that has been set up for the "legacy" project, and partly by the municipality.