For a long time, there has been a noticeable unfairness in how the province has distributed the substantial sums of money in its county roads budget, as stated by Minister of Transportation Chuck Chiasson. The minister addressed this issue on Wednesday in the legislature following a query from Green Party Deputy Leader Megan Mitton, the MLA for Tantramar.
Mitton had obtained information through a Right to Information request she submitted to the department, revealing that funding allocations in electoral districts often fluctuated based on whether the district was represented by a government MLA or an opposition MLA.
The data unveiled significant changes in allocated funds that coincided with political shifts. For instance, in the Shippagan-Lamèque-Miscou riding, the allocation dropped from $200,000 in 2019 to $50,000 the next year after MLA Robert Gauvin switched from the PC caucus to an independent position.
Another example highlighted was the Gagetown-Peticodiac riding, which received $50,000 under the Liberal Gallant government in 2018. Subsequently, when former PC premier Blaine Higgs took office, the allocation surged to $420,000 and peaked at $713,000 in 2022.
Mitton also noted instances where district budgets saw substantial increases after their representative assumed the role of Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure. Notably, the Carleton-York district’s allocation more than doubled following MLA Richard Ames’ appointment, receiving over $1 million in 2024-25 out of the total $7 million in the fund.
Similarly, the Kings Centre riding experienced a more than twofold increase in funding in 2019 and 2020 after MLA Bill Oliver became the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.
Mitton emphasized in the legislature that districts with government MLAs tended to receive more funding for road projects, indicating a pattern of political bias that contradicts the intended fairness of the Road Ahead plan.
The Road Ahead plan, the department’s three-year capital infrastructure plan, encompasses $1.5 billion in investments over three years through a list of planned projects. However, district project allocations are separate from this plan, with the $7 million fund distributed across electoral districts without a defined formula until this year, according to Chiasson.
Upon recognizing the issue, Chiasson instructed department staff to establish a formula for a fairer distribution of funds. He outlined that each riding with provincial roads would receive a base amount of $50,000, with the remaining budget allocated proportionally based on the number of provincial roads in each electoral district.
Mitton, while acknowledging the new formula, suggested that her persistence in scrutinizing the funds prompted the development of this system. She stressed the importance of transparency and vowed to continue seeking historical data and advocating for annual public disclosure to ensure accountability in fund allocations.