Higgs rejects charge his government isn't co-operating with Ottawa on flood work

Premier Blaine Higgs says New Brunswick has been co-operating with the federal government on flood mitigation ever since water levels started to swell along the St. John River this spring.

Although he acknowledged a couple of areas where the two governments don't see eye to eye, Higgs said Monday that they have worked together closely in response to the flood.

"For me, it's more important to focus on the needs of those that have been impacted," Higgs said.

He was responding to Fredericton MP Matt DeCourcey, who expressed frustration last week with what he saw as the province's lack of interest in working with the federal government on flood remediation projects.

"The provincial government doesn't want to invest with us in important infrastructure for fear of having people like me re-elected," DeCourcey told CBC News.

DeCourcey said he reached out to Environment Minister Jeff Carr on May 16 to start the process of identifying and prioritizing infrastructure work that Ottawa has already agreed to fund, but he didn't get an answer.

• Don't play politics with St. John River floods, Fredericton MP asks Higgs

After learning through "local media" that Carr considered DeCourcey's efforts a political gimmick, the Liberal MP said he decided to write an open letter to Progressive Conservative Premier Blaine Higgs.

But Higgs said it appears both DeCourcey and Carr thought the other was playing politics.

"I think they probably both share the thought that politics was being played here, but that's between the two of them," Higgs said in an interview with Information Morning Fredericton."I'm not going to get involved with that."

Whenthe flooding started this year, he said, his government contacted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office and requested military assistance right away.

"Within less than 48 hours I had a call from Prime Minister Trudeau offering whatever assistance was needed," he said.

"Once we knew, actually, that it was going to meet the thresholds of disaster relief, we were applying to the federal government. We took advantage of that during the flood."

Since then, he said, the province has also been doing an assessment of flood damage incurred this past spring.

CBC News asked for an interview with Carrbutwas told he wasn't available.

Higgs meets with Canada's finance minister

Three weeks ago, Higgs also met with federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau and discussed support for New Brunswick residents affected by flooding and financial help to fix roads and bridges. Higgs said they also discussed future mitigation projects.

On Friday, the federal government announced four New Brunswick flood mitigation projects worth more than $660,000 in federal funding.

Higgs said those projects have been in the works for the past "several weeks."

One of the projects includes more than $172,000 towarda risk assessment that will identify flood hazards, potential impacts and community and infrastructure vulnerabilities in Fredericton. The federal governmentwill also fund the replacement of the Corbert Brook Culvert "to ensure a reliable potable water connection" in Fredericton for $640,000.

Is flooding along the St. John River the new norm?

5 years ago

Duration 1:27

For two years in a row, floodwater reached historic levels along the lower St. John River system.

Another $81,500 will go to flood mitigation in Saint John, and another $461,500 will fund flood-proofing upgrades of the Musquash Water Pumping Station in Saint John.

"The purpose was to let them know we had reached that threshold and we would be seeking funding."

Earlier this month, the Progressive Conservative government also increased the amount of advanced funding to property owners to $15,000 from$4,000 to allow residents to return home sooner.

Spending on infrastructure that needs fixing

Higgsdid sayDeCourcey could be getting confused withinfrastructure projects theprovince has cancelled or postponed thatdon'thave anything to do with flooding, such as a new building fortheNew Brunswick Museum.

"I said I would welcome funding for support for projects that we actually have to fix, like roads and bridges and things that are in bad shape that we need help on."

How the St. John River floods

6 years ago

Duration 1:26

How high will the St. John River rise this spring, and does the Mactaquac Dam have anything to do with it? A New Brunswick flood, explained.

Higgs said the only areaswhere provincial and federal governments see significant debate is the federal carbon tax and spending money on things the province believes New Brunswickers don't need.

"We have money to spend on real infrastructure projects that we need to repair and replace," Higgs said. "And that's what I want to focus on and not raise more taxes to create a project that we don't need to have."