OTTAWA — Newfoundland Premier Brian Tobin wants Ottawa to pony up cash to eliminate toll highways in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

Tobin told federal Transport Minister David Collenette that tolls in the two provinces would hurt the economy of Newfoundland and P.E.I. because the increased transportation costs would be a barrier to interprovincial trade, according to a Fredericton newspaper.

Tobin wants the federal government to eliminate the controversial levy by paying the provinces the amount that would be raised by the tolls.

Collenette declined to discuss his conversation with the Newfoundland premier. He said the issue of tolls on highways is a provincial issue. ÒIt is a bit academic because we don’t have any money anyway at the moment,Ó Collenette said. ÒBut before any new money goes into a national highway program, we want this issue resolved, and so the debate that we are having right now is useful.Ó

In New Brunswick, tolls on the 195-kilometre Fredericton to Moncton stretch of highway are expected to raise $22-million a year for the builder, Maritime Road Development Corp. (MRDC). The privately owned consortium has a 30-year lease with the province for the highway.

Meanwhile, opposition leaders in New Brunswick are asking the Liberal government to submit construction and financing costs for the highway to the auditor-general to determine if the province is really getting the best deal possible.

The New Brunswick Dept. of Transportation estimated it would cost more than $758 million to build the highway itself, versus the $584-million bid submitted MRDC.

A recent auditor-generalÕs study of other public-private partnerships in New Brunswick revealed that the province’s claim that private construction was cheaper than traditional government methods was false. The report examined two public facilities — a school and a youth correctional facility — built and/or operated by private companies.