Cape Breton needs roadwork too

Last month the province and Ottawa signed a deal guaranteeing $828 million in federal funding for infrastructure projects in Nova Scotia. The money will be spread over 10 years.

The provincial McNeil government happily accepted the cash and stated that $300 million would be used to pay for the twinned highways construction projects that end at the causeway.

In a recent television news report, a Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) spokesperson stated that the HRM would be spending $65 million this summer and $120 million over two years in road improvements. Another provincial official in the same news report about highway improvements in the Halifax County and other mainland areas stated that $300 million would be spent to twin highways that had poor safety records and others that needed necessary improvements.

The totals invested in these mainland roads is at least $420 million. I do not know if all that money is being taken from the $828 million the federal government gave to Nova Scotia. I have also not heard an announcement from Halifax stating that at least $85 million is going to be spent on Cape Breton roads. After all, we have more than 10 per cent of the population of Nova Scotia so shouldn’t we should at least get 10 per cent of that $828 million for our roads and other needs?

The premier also suggested that another excellent place for some of the $830 million would be a nice new art gallery for Halifax. I am sure that it was an accidental oversight that he did not mention a new library for Cape Breton Regional Municipality as an equally deserving project. Greg MacInnis Sydney