Lydia Potter
Guest Opinion
We shouldn’t have to pay to access the rest of Canada
Research the history of Prince Edward Island and you’ll find deep roots that Samuel Holland placed when he came to survey the land.
Within only five years, Holland reached out to government advocating for P.E.I. to become its own province rather than an island of Nova Scotia, which would later become Prince Edward Island, and in 1873, join the Confederation of Canada. Confederation is important because it connected P.E.I. to Canada, but there was one challenge the Island must continue to overcome — water. A railway couldn’t truly connect P.E.I. to the rest of Canada without a more efficient way to expedite the delivery of goods, services, or individuals to the mainland — and weather played a toll as well. Then in 1988, voters took to polls and a decision was made to brave the making of the Confederation Bridge that would in 1997 connect the Province of Confederation to the rest of its country.
Islanders have continued to push barriers, showing we carry the same pride as the rest of this country. We want to travel freely and share the beauty of P.E.I. and its economic resources with the rest of Canadians, many a mere 45 minutes away. However, that experience today is tolled at nearly $50. We believe, as Canadians, it shouldn’t cost us to access the rest of Canada, and that goes both ways. A short trip to P.E.I. should not be something one must carefully consider as a financial strain. Likewise, a visit to family across or a medical procedure that cannot be administered on the Island shouldn’t be burdened by toll costs.
Downtown Summerside Inc. stands by the City of Summerside and asks you to join us, urging the federal government of Canada to stand by its word in promising to “look at what can be done to make sure that people are able to travel freely, efficiently, and openly across this country at modest costs.” Affordable travel to and from P.E.I. will provide a better climate for economic development and will facilitate tourism opportunities for P.E.I. and its neighbouring provinces.
Quoting P.E.I. Senator Percy Downe as he speaks to fairness for Islanders, “The subsidy to the Confederation Bridge operator, plus the lost revenue from tolls, would cost less money than the yearly cost of the subsidy to the Champlain Bridge. Indeed, including the federal subsidy to the Wood Island-Caribou ferry service (approximately $16 million in 2017) would still add up to less money than the $146 million yearly cost of the (federally funded) Champlain Bridge.”
This is a new phase of ‘Confederation,’ pursuing a tangible connection to the rest of the country. This bridge isn’t a convenient luxury. Islanders have no option to take a longer route to avoid a toll but are forced to choose to stay or go and pay. Without question the cost of leaving P.E.I. is not just a $47.75 toll, but there’s a lasting toll on economic development and opportunity for Islanders as well as for mainlanders who wish to experience the culture of their partnering Province of Confederation — one with a shared heritage. Perhaps if there is no other way to do so feasibly, folks crossing the Champlain Bridge in Montreal might pay in order to make room in the federal budget to affordably connect Canadians on Prince Edward Island with the rest of our country.
Lydia Potter is the executive director of Downtown Summerside Inc.
