I know the Liberals hate to hear this because it is the truth and that is why they are all complaining at this point.
Highways should be paid for by our income tax which lets people pay for services based on a percentage of their incomes instead of tolls which are unfairly applied at the same rate to both poor and rich citizens.
In addition, I oppose the tolls on the Trans-Canada section between Riverglade and Moncton to MRDC because this section should not be part of the deal. The section in question has already been paid for by our taxes, both provincially and federally. The highway is part of the Trans-Canada, a national symbol which links Canadians from the Atlantic to the Pacific. This section is the only highway linking residents of the riding with health care needs which they can only obtain in Saint John or Moncton. The federal government has double-dipped in the pockets of Atlantic Canadian businesses.
This toll tax on the main corridor between the maritime provinces and the rest of Canada will result in an increase in the cost of goods and services imported and exported from the maritime region. The tourist trade will also be directly affected.
In addition, the people of New Brunswick will be looking at a $2 billion tax increase.
In 1995 the Liberal government eliminated the Atlantic Canada freight rate subsidies, promising to invest $326 million over five years to modernize the highway system in Atlantic Canada and eastern Quebec. Where did it go?
In Atlantic Canada freight rate subsidies existed to help Atlantic Canadian businesses compete with central Canadian businesses which were favoured because of lower transportation costs. This represented thousands of dollars in subsidies every year for many Atlantic Canadian businesses.
Now the toll highway, already paid for by tax dollars and the savings of the subsidies eliminated, is costing these businesses more than before. It does not add up.
For example, a company which used to pay $1,000 to ship its products to Ontario would get a rebate of $250. Now they have to pay the $1,000 plus an extra $110 fee per day to travel.
In closing, I would like to say that the Trans-Canada Highway should be toll free from coast to coast. In the words of Ruth Jackson, present mayor of Salisbury: “A toll on any part of the Trans-Canada Highway is a breach of trust to the citizens of Canada, removing them from the freedom of unifying transport across this country. Any tolled road, be it provincial or private, must be separate and distinctly not part of the Trans-Canada Highway system. If this toll is allowed to proceed, all geography east of Moncton will be denied the freedom of national highway access to any commercial transport”.