Higgs reissues call to block feds from sending money to municipalities

Article content

Premier Blaine Higgs has reissued his call on the federal government to stop sending money directly to municipalities, calling it an “unfair pressure tactic.”

But the Higgs government’s finance minister says he isn’t taking any direct action to stop it from happening.

That’s amid calls from New Brunswick mayors and municipal groups for Higgs to drop his criticism.

Several of the country’s premiers at a meeting in Halifax last week complained of “jurisdictional creep,” arguing Ottawa is overstepping its authority by dealing directly with towns and cities on housing and other files.

In an interview with Brunswick News, Higgs said several provinces, including New Brunswick, would look to draft legislation similar to Quebec’s, which requires the feds to negotiate with the provincial government, and not municipalities.

Higgs’s office has since taken to social media to double down on his position.

“Several Premiers and I agree: Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government’s jurisdictional creep – bypassing provinces to send money directly to municipalities – is an unfair pressure tactic and often creates duplicate processes,” reads a post on Higgs’s X account, formerly Twitter.

“Federal, provincial, and municipal governments need collaboration on housing and other files so that we can work together to solve issues.

“We are basically asking for the same consideration that Quebec has to deal directly with the federal government on provincial funding initiatives.”

The words were also reposted by the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick account that has suddenly become active after not posting since Higgs’s September 2020 election win, now more than three years ago.

The posts sparked widespread reaction throughout the weekend.

It was viewed more that 220,000 times as of Tuesday, with 1,200 likes and roughly 800 comments – nearly unparalleled figures for Higgs’s X account.

It included comments from former Tory MLA Troy Lifford, who was part of the Alward government when Higgs was finance minister, alleging that the Higgs government leveraged COVID-19 funding from the federal government during the pandemic to pad the province’s own bottom line.

“I think your argument is valid, but your history shows you cannot be trusted with Ottawa funds,” Lifford wrote.

Quispamsis Councillor Noah Donovan wrote it would cost his community $9 million if Higgs were to block federal housing accelerator applications from being accepted.

Meanwhile, the Cities of New Brunswick Association issued a statement criticizing the premier’s position.

“It’s unfathomable that the premier of this province, or any province, would want to block the flow of millions of federal dollars to our cities to address the ongoing housing crisis and help us fuel the rapid housing development our communities and province desperately need,” said association president and Miramichi Mayor Adam Lordon. “It’s against the province’s own best interest to do so.”

Lordon added if the premier is going to consider legislation that will impact municipalities, the cities association calls on him to first consult with municipalities to understand its perspectives.

No, there has been no talk about legislating anything like that.

Ernie Steeves

That said, it’s unclear if legislation is being immediately pursued.

Asked on Tuesday, Finance Minister Ernie Steeves said his office isn’t currently doing that.

“No, there has been no talk about legislating anything like that,” Steeves said.

Meanwhile, asked if it would be on the agenda at an annual meeting between the country’s finance ministers and federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland next month, Steeves suggested it wouldn’t.

“We’re more concerned about the carbon tax than anything else right now,” Steeves said.

A unified call by the provinces to exempt home heating from the federal price on carbon wasn’t on the agenda when finance ministers met last week on a conference call with Freeland that was only to discuss Alberta’s potential exit from the Canada Pension Plan.

Freeland said the December meeting was where that could be debated.

On Tuesday in Toronto, Freeland spun the criticism by several premiers over the federal government’s Housing Accelerator Fund – $4 billion that the Trudeau government is giving out to municipalities with housing projects – into a positive.

“We have been hearing from provinces across the country an assertion of their jurisdiction over municipalities and we can see that as also a recognition of the responsibility that provinces across the country have for municipalities,” Freeland said. “And I would love to see that recognition manifest in more support for the cities.”

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has cited Quebec’s Bill M-30, which requires the feds to negotiate with the provincial government, and not municipalities.

It resulted in Quebec negotiating a $900-million piece of the federal government’s Housing Accelerator Fund to distribute to communities as it chooses with the province agreeing to match that money for a total of $1.8 billion.

Higgs has maintained that New Brunswick wants that deal, and is willing to bring forward legislation to see it happen.