Barriers to Understanding: Channel-Port aux Basques and Managed Retreat

Abstract

On the 24th of September 2022, Hurricane Fiona decimated the small town of Channel-Port aux Basques. When the storm settled the federal government announced funding to help communities adapt to increasingly hostile weather through armour stones (large rocks along the coastline). However, when Fiona struck there were already armour stones in Channel-Port aux Basques and they did not protect nearby homes or the surrounding coast. Armour stones have conflicting evidence on their effectiveness. A local NGO found that residents of Channel-Port aux Basques know about the risks of building these barriers. For countless communities, barriers would not be the adaptation method of choice, so why are they so common? The federal and provincial governments have control of disaster funding, not local governments. They have become path dependent on barrier building, making better choices such as managed retreat left unconsidered. Managed retreat is a process of the government buying properties built too close to the shore and municipalities zoning areas to stay undeveloped. The process is delicate but has shown great success in low density areas such as Channel- Port aux Basques. Residents of communities affected by natural disasters are not properly consulted on decisions that affect their town’s future. Through collaborative planning better policy decisions can be made to help coastal communities adapt to climate change.