Bridge motion puts N.B. Tories in a bind

The Liberal government has passed a motion that is not only demanding the federal government help repair the Saint John Harbour Bridge, but isalso being used to put local Tory MLAs in a bind.

The 40-year-old bridge needs about $35 million in work on the decking and walls.

The Saint John Harbour Bridge Authority is asking the federal government to issue an approval so the local bridge authority can borrow money to finance the repairs. The provincial government and city council have already given their approvals.

The motion passed on Friday is non-binding and will have no practical effect as the two levels of government continue to squabble over funding the bridge.

But it's already being used to embarrass the opposition MLAs who voted against it.

Liberal MLAs jeered as Saint John Portland Progressive Conservative MLA Trevor Holder voted against the motion, which called on Ottawa to approve the bridge authority's budget.

And within moments of the motion passing, Energy Minister Jack Keir, a Saint John-area Liberal MLA, used Twitter to denounce Holder's vote.

"I can't believe that Trevor Holder voted to stand behind [Saint John Conservative MP] Rodney Weston and not the resident of Saint John," Keir wrote on Twitter shortly after Friday's vote.

Without federal or provincial loan guarantees, the authority must borrow money at a higher interest rate.

Transportation Minister Denis Landry said the federal government has helped upgrade bridges elsewhere, so Ottawa should come to the aid of the Saint John bridge.

"This is why we are asking all members of this house to appeal to the federal government to approve the request of the Saint John Harbour Bridge Authority for their budget," Landry said.

New Brunswick's Tory MLAs are allies of the federal Conservative government, but MLA Bev Harrison said that's not why they voted against the Liberal motion.

"The first thing is, it is not a federal bridge," Harrison said.

The Saint John MP has been at the centre of the ongoing bridge funding fight. Weston promised to eliminate tolls in the last federal election campaign and refuses to back down on that commitment.

Meanwhile, the provincial governmentinsists the 50-cent tolls are needed to pay down any loan.

The New Brunswick Tories argued that more loans would mean more bridge authority debt and Ottawa and the province should simply pay for the upgrade.