Tantramar Green MLA Megan Mitton during community meeting at civic centre in Sackville

Tantramar MLA Megan Mitton stirred up murmurs of protest and a few polite boos Thursday evening when she mentioned the Holt government’s proposal for toll booths on the TransCanada Highway near the provincial border with Nova Scotia.

“I feel like the folks writing the budget were like, this is going to be a big deficit, and…we should put something in there for revenue. Does anyone have any ideas? And someone threw this in,” Mitton said during one of her regular reports to constituents at the civic centre in Sackville.

She added that when she questioned the minister for the department of transportation in the legislature, it became clear that the government hadn’t thought the toll booth idea through.

“They didn’t really have answers about how it would work, if they would exempt local people, if it would still even make sense in terms of the revenue for that. They really didn’t know,” she said, before referring to the chorus of negative comments from the prime minister, provincial premiers, the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce and other groups.

“So I have a feeling it’s quite possible since it’s several years out that they’ll just try to forget about it,” Mitton said.

“But I’ll be vigilant and continuing to try to get information and push back against it.”

Horizon cancels meeting

Before delivering her report on local health care last night, Mitton explained why there were two long tables with 10 chairs behind them at the front of the room.

She said officials from Horizon Health had agreed in February to come to answer people’s questions about local concerns, but then cancelled the meeting in April.

“We had already booked the venue, and so I said, ‘well, let’s still have a meeting,’ but that’s why it looks like it’s set up for a panel discussion,” she said, adding that she is hoping to arrange a community meeting with Horizon this fall.

Mitton said that although services have been expanding at Sackville Memorial Hospital, there is still a need to push for the ER to be open around-the-clock, seven days a week instead of the current, daily hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

She added that although the government promised a year ago to provide a primary care doctor or nurse practitioner for everyone in this area, there are still about 1,500 people on the waiting list.

Long-term care

As for long-term care, Mitton said government after government has failed to address the need for long-term care beds, nursing home beds, special care beds in the home as well as home care staffing.

She pointed out that too many people are still in hospital waiting for long-term beds.

“Something that I’ve brought to the legislature is that sometimes for folks that may have dementia, maybe a fall risk or prone to wandering if the staff aren’t able to sit with them, and so sometimes they’re being tied to chairs,” she said.

“That’s something that is obviously completely unacceptable.”

Mitton called on the government to implement recommendations in the report last fall from Seniors Advocate Kelly Lamrock who pointed out there had been no government action on many of the recommendations he originally made in 2024.

Wheaton covered bridge

Logan Atkinson

Mitton said the provincial department of transportation and infrastructure (DTI) is planning to move ahead this year with the construction of a bridge so that farm and emergency vehicles could cross the Tantramar River on the High Marsh Road.

The new structure would replace the Wheaton Covered Bridge which was closed to traffic in 2024 for safety reasons. After the new bridge is built, the Wheaton bridge would be restored for pedestrian and bicycle crossings.

But later, Tantramar Heritage Trust Past President Logan Atkinson said he feared that time had run out for the 110-year-old covered bridge and that farmers would now lose another year waiting for construction of a newer one beside it.

“I don’t think they would put up with that,” he said, “so that means that the only outcome has to be taking the [covered] bridge down.”

Mitton replied that she spoke to DTI Minister Chuck Chiasson last week who said officials had been trying to reach the owner of the land where the new bridge would go.

“The soil may be an issue in terms of what’s possible to build there,” she said, adding that in order to get environmental approvals, there would need to be an archeological investigation to determine if there are Indigenous artefacts there.

“So, I’m pushing them to move faster,” Mitton said, adding that she would be meeting the district engineer on Friday and the DTI minister again next week.

Municipal resolution

Atkinson pointed out that Tantramar council passed a resolution in January asking town staff to investigate options for the preservation of the covered bridge as a municipally led initiative.

The resolution also called for the creation of a citizens’ committee to raise funds and explore ways of integrating the covered bridge into local trails and roads.

“I don’t think anything’s been done in the five months since that resolution was passed,” Atkinson said, adding later that he planned to raise the matter with the newly elected council when it meets on June 9th.

Mitton responded that she would also be pressing the minister for firmer timelines on the project.

“I’m pushing for them to move faster,” she said. “I’ve been told…that they would be getting going in the summer.”

For previous CHMA coverage on the Wheaton Covered Bridge by Erica Butler, click here.