Cry Me a Chocolate River

Few projects stand as a testament to Liberal hubris as blatantly as the project to replace the Petitcodiac River causeway between Moncton and Riverview.

Despite countless studies and environmental impact assessments, Shawn Graham has decided that the causeway must go because this project is "not significant only here in New Brunswick, but across Canada and around the world" *

That's right - people in China, India, and even Swaziland are just waiting with baited breath to see that causeway replaced by a bridge. Sheesh!

All political hyperbole aside (or as the Premier used to pronounce it - "hyper-bowl") the opening price tag on this project is in the neighbourhood of $100 million dollars, which amounts to about $1,000 for every single person living in the Greater Moncton Area.

Back here in the real world, we at the NB Conservative have a not so novel idea for the Premier. Do what they do in the US states when they have a mega project to fund - they ask the good citizens to vote on taking out a bond. In other words, they ask first if everyone agrees to borrow the money and then they actually pay it back.

In fact, we double-chocolate-river dare the Premier to put this initiative on a ballot, either province wide or in a local referendum, and then see if it's worth pursuing.

* In case you might have thought we made the quote up, here it is in its entirety from an actual government press release:

"The construction of the Petitcodiac causeway did not simply block the river," said Graham. "It devastated the river's ecosystem, eliminated commercial fisheries, and changed a way of life for residents of Fort Folly First Nation who had used the river for fishing, travel and trade.”

"Our undertaking of this important environmental project is significant not only here in New Brunswick, but across Canada and around the world. When the Petitcodiac River's magnificent tidal bore can be appreciated once again, and when species such as salmon, smelt and shad return, this endeavour will stand as a symbol of what we are capable of here in this great province, and why we can be proud to call it home." - www.gnb.ca