Andrew Black Mayor of Tantramar on Crusade for Chignecto Isthmus Project with Beausejour MP Dominic Leblanc

 

More from Dominic Leblanc on Twitter about this important project for the region here:

Dominic LeBlanc on X: "As the narrow strip of land that connects Nova Scotia to the rest of Canada, the Chignecto Isthmus is a vital corridor. Alongside our New Brunswick and Nova Scotia partners, we’re taking action to protect it. Learn more: https://t.co/f3tp1YvJkc" / X

"As the narrow strip of land that connects Nova Scotia to the rest of Canada, the Chignecto Isthmus is a vital corridor. Alongside our New Brunswick and Nova Scotia partners, we’re taking action to protect it. Learn more:"

Protecting the Chignecto Isthmus against climate change - Canada.ca

"News release

Sackville, New Brunswick, March 20, 2025 — The governments of Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are collectively moving forward to protect the Chignecto Isthmus from the increasingly destructive impacts of climate change. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia commit to paying $162.5 million each for a total of $325 million to support the project (valued at $650 million). This is a major step towards ensuring the security of this important link.

This was announced by Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Minister Kody Blois, Premier Susan Holt, and Minister Fred Tilley.

The dykeland system in the Chignecto Isthmus between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia will be raised to decrease the risk of flooding, protecting agriculture in the region and surrounding communities, including Sackville, New Brunswick and Amherst, Nova Scotia, against sea level rise and storm surges.

The isthmus is also a transportation corridor including the Trans Canada Highway and the Canadian National Railway, connecting New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. An estimated $100 million of goods and services crosses the corridor each day. The corridor also contains 138 kV and 345 kV of electrical transmission lines, and fibre-optical cables, both of which are essential to providing electricity and telecommunication capabilities within and across communities.

A network of dykes and aboiteaux that was originally installed in the late 1600s currently protects assets in the region from rising sea levels and storm surges, including a nearby wind farm, cultural sites, a sewage treatment plant, agricultural croplands, and private properties with buildings, wells, and septic systems. Increasing sea level rise and coastal sinking are forecasted to threaten the current dykes — along with the corridor infrastructure and communities they protect — before 2100.

The project will include raising the height of the existing dyke system to mitigate the risk of the Chignecto Isthmus being flooded with sea water. The project will have two major components: a minimum of 13 km of dyke system and three to five large aboiteaux and the replacement or addition of new small aboiteaux. Aboiteaux are culverts with gates that stop sea water from flowing inland past the dykes while allowing water behind the dykes to flow out.

The entire project is expected to take approximately 10 years to complete with the preliminary engineering studies, design, and land acquisition occurring during the first half of the period and most of the construction occurring during the last half. "

"Andrew Black - Mayor of Tantramar

14h  · 

Amazing, amazing news!!

"The federal, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia governments have reached a deal on a major infrastructure project to protect the low-lying Chignecto Isthmus from the effects of climate change.

Ottawa and the two provinces will spend $650 million over the next 10 years to reinforce centuries-old dikes to reduce the risk of flooding in the vital land link between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia."

For those of you who may not know this is something that I have personally been working on/advocating on for our community for the past 4 years in my role on council as a councilor, Deputy Mayor and now Mayor. I also brought this to the forefront on the municipal/federal level through work with my colleagues as President (now Past President) of UMNB. I have done countless interviews, delivered several presentations, talked to MLAs and MPs from across the country, sat in on a Senate hearing on behalf of Tantramar in Ottawa and spoke to everyone and anyone that I could about the importance of this project nationally, provincially and locally.

I want to acknowledge the sheer amount of work from some other key players over the last several years to get the Isthmus to this announcement. Both former Mayors John Higham and Shawn Mesheau worked tirelessly on this file with their counterpart across the border Mayor David Kogon (Mayor Rob Small has taken up the mantle since the NS election). Recognition needs to be made for Bob Casey who has been talking about the need for the dikes to be addressed for over a decade and continues to be a strong voice. MLAs on both sides of the border have been pushing strong, as much as they can so a big thank you to both Megan Mitton and Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin. MP Dominic Leblanc was in his position when the DMAF funding was announced and has been a defender of our area when talking about climate change. Lastly....all the stakeholder groups that have kept this in focus including, but not limited to, EOS, ClimAtlantic, Ducks Unlimited and First Nations communities such as Fort Folly.

Stay tuned as we find out how this will all play out over the next 10 years and look out for an interview first thing tomorrow morning with Jonna Brewer of CBC Information Morning on March 21st."

Jonna's link here: Information Morning - Moncton with Jonna Brewer | Live Radio | CBC Listen

Photography by THE Indie Media Eastcoast 'Waterfowl Park sunrise'

The good news for the Beausejour Liberal Dominic Leblanc:

LeBlanc is Carney’s right-hand man inside cabinet

"Dominic LeBlanc is Prime Minister Mark Carney’s right-hand man inside cabinet, a new inner circle committee shake up reveals.

Carney has restructured – and significantly pared down – the smaller groups of cabinet ministers responsible for enacting the government’s agenda.

While the new prime minister’s cabinet is a slimmer 24 ministers, a much smaller number are first charged with sketching out how the government will handle some of the most complex and most pressing issues inside cabinet committees, before taking an approach to colleagues.

Carney has brought down the number of cabinet committees to just four."

Sabine Dietz redraws flood maps to 'help out' the locals; she is the Executive Director of ClimATLANTIC Inc., a consummate climate grifter and former Town Councillor / election campaign manager for Megan Mitton Green Party MLA for Tantramar.