Madam Speaker, let me remind the hon. member that highway matters fall under provincial jurisdiction. Lesson one. This means that provincial governments decide on their alignment, design, construction standards, tendering process and financing as well as subsequent operations and maintenance.
The decision to establish tolls on highways is exclusively a provincial decision. New Brunswick has chosen to operate the 195 kilometre highway project from Longs Creek west of Fredericton to Magnetic Hill west of Moncton as a public sector-private sector partnership using tolls.
New Brunswick announced on January 23, 1998 that the Maritime Road Development Corporation would construct and operate the four lane controlled access highway which will be opened by November 30, 2001.
The total capital cost of this project is $887 million. This cost includes new construction at $584 million plus a payment to the province for work completed or under way on various sections of $123 million, not including the $32 million federal contribution plus land costs and construction interest costs. The overall agreement is for 50 years.
This highway project is not being funded under the federal-provincial cost shared agreement. The federal government has no legal basis to prevent New Brunswick from imposing tolls on this highway.