Last week, the Houston government tabled legislation that drastically impacts transportation infrastructure decisions in Nova Scotia. This bill is yet another example of the overreach and lack of transparency around decision-making that the province has been swiftly moving toward.
Consolidation of decision-making power and a lack of transparency
The bill absorbs the Joint Regional Transportation Agency (JRTA), formerly a crown corporation, into the Department of Public Works. The JRTA was created by the Houston government in 2022 to develop a Regional Transportation Plan that would address transportation issues associated with rapid growth in Halifax and surrounding communities.
The JRTA’s work has been crucial to understanding key transportation needs for Nova Scotia’s growing population. This includes hiring expert consultants to analyze different transportation strategies and growth scenarios in order to create a resilient transportation plan for the region. The JRTA’s work was grounded in evidence-based decision making and extensive community consultation – while also moving with the speed and urgency needed to address our growing population’s transportation issues.
In 2023, the JRTA released a set of guiding principles along with comprehensive scenario planning and analysis as part of their public engagement work. The scenario analyses clearly demonstrated that a business-as-usual approach of simply building more roads wouldn’t solve congestion in the region – and that other strategies and policies supporting public transit, cycling and walking were needed.
The JRTA’s Regional Transportation Plan was due to be released in fall 2024. This plan would have outlined recommended actions for establishing a long-term, coordinated transportation system that makes sustainable growth and development possible. However, the election paused its release, and Nova Scotians have been given no indication if or when the report will be made public.
The real concern is the lack of transparency in decision-making. Will experts guide the process, or will it be based on assumptions? For example, the removal of tolls on the Macdonald and MacKay bridges was announced without a clear rationale or study into the potential increase in congestion and negative effects on traffic safety.
Provincial overreach into municipal infrastructure planning
In addition to absorbing the JRTA, Bill 24 also creates a worrying and undemocratic level of provincial overreach into municipal jurisdictions. The bill would give the province power to override municipal decisions regarding infrastructure and force municipalities to cover associated costs. We’ve seen this kind of government overreach in Ontario – where Premier Ford forced cities to remove bike lanes on mass – and the implications are truly staggering.
Municipal planning involves year-round public consultation, allowing Nova Scotians the right to participate and provide feedback on how their municipalities are shaped. To take this away is an undemocratic and a troubling consolidation of power.
A potential silver lining
One positive aspect of this bill is an indication that the province might be interested in creating a provincial transit agency – something that is desperately needed in order to create viable alternatives to personal vehicles and meet accessibility needs for Nova Scotians across the province. Additionally, the minister of public works has indicated that he won’t remove bike lanes. However, with the level of power granted to the province and so little transparency around decision making, we are left simply taking their word for it – something that has proven insufficient in the past with promises to implement the Coastal Protection Act, maintain the ban on fracking in Nova Scotia and more.
We call on the Houston government to immediately release the JRTA’s Regional Transportation Plan and amend Bill 24 to remove provincial overreach into municipal planning.