Nova Scotia tells court that Ottawa is entirely responsible for Chignecto Isthmus

Keith Doucette · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 11, 2025 5:57 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

Nova Scotia's Court of Appeal has reserved its determination connected whether the national authorities is solely liable for the dike strategy that protects the low-lying onshore corridor linking Nova Scotia with New Brunswick.

Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island privation the tribunal to settee the law question of whether the transportation, commercialized and connection links crossed the Chignecto Isthmus are wrong the exclusive legislative authorization of Parliament.

The provinces support that the national authorities should wage the full outgo of upgrading protections of the isthmus — presently estimated astatine $650 cardinal — but Ottawa has agreed to wage lone fractional of it.

Lori Ward, a national authorities lawyer, argued earlier a three-judge sheet Tuesday that the law question posed by the provinces is vague and the grounds submitted does not code the cardinal question.

"It's not astatine each wide that the interprovincial obstruction line, the transmission lines and the fibre optic lines they accidental are national undertakings beryllium connected the protective infrastructure," Ward said.

She said obstruction lines tin beryllium raised and transmission lines tin beryllium buried, suggesting the dikes are not indispensable for their protection. Ward besides questioned whether capable was known astir "which dike protects what" connected the isthmus.

Complicated question

The isthmus has had ample dikes since 1671, erstwhile Acadian settlers arrived, and determination are presently astir 35 kilometres of dikes that assistance support roads, railways, farms and communities.

Ward said the question of part of powers is analyzable by existing provincial authorities governing specified things arsenic agriculture and the dike strategy connected the isthmus.

"There are tons of things progressive connected the isthmus, and tons of them are provincial and immoderate of them are federal," she said, adding that courts deciding immoderate aboriginal questions would apt find determination is "concurrent jurisdiction."

She characterized the ineligible lawsuit arsenic an effort to "enlist the court" to assistance successful what is truly a backing dispute, saying the sheet should diminution to reply the provinces' question.

Jeremy Smith, a lawyer for Nova Scotia, argued that the dike strategy is "integral" to protecting the obstruction and connection lines that tally done the isthmus, some of which are the work of the national government.

"It's not a hypothetical question. It's a question that addresses infrastructure that exists connected the ground," Smith said. "The main statement is that it's not a happening lasting connected its own, that it's integrated into things that are national undertakings."

Vulnerable area

At that point, Chief Justice Michael Wood asked whether the Trans-Canada Highway that crosses the isthmus is simply a national undertaking. "The commercialized that goes implicit it is," replied Smith, though helium conceded that the road itself isn't.

Smith besides argued the records submitted to the tribunal springiness wide definitions of what constitutes protective infrastructure. Those records see an engineering survey connected the dike strategy crossed the isthmus, helium said.

Wood asked Smith if it would beryllium just for the tribunal to amend Nova Scotia's question to marque it wide that the infrastructure successful question is the dike system, and helium replied, "that would beryllium wholly fair."

Climate researchers person warned that arsenic oversea levels rise, 1 terrible tidal tempest successful the Bay of Fundy could flooded the area's dikes, flooding communities and halting the proscription of goods and services betwixt the provinces.

Daniel Boyle, different lawyer for Nova Scotia, said a 2012 study for the provincial and national governments connected the flood hazard to the isthmus concluded that it would beryllium prudent to program for the semipermanent sustainability of the area.

"It besides states that Nova Scotia could go an island," Boyle said, adding that the report's notation "establishes the hazard that this (legal) question seeks to address."

The tribunal said it would regularisation connected the substance astatine a aboriginal date.