Nova Scotia's premier pulled no punches Thursday, saying Ottawa should pay the entire cost of protecting the important land corridor linking his province and New Brunswick from climate change-related flooding. Tim Houston made the comment after being asked whether his government would apply to the federal disaster mitigation fund by the July 19 deadline. Federal Infrastructure Minister Dominic LeBlanc has encouraged both provinces to apply for funding for up to half the $301-million potential cost to protect the Chignecto Isthmus. "That (land) strip is a very significant national trade corridor," Houston said. "We understand Minister LeBlanc's position on that and the offer for the feds to pay 50 per cent, but quite frankly we think he's wrong. We think the feds should be paying for that."