Crowd rallies in front of Nova Scotia legislature for coastal protection legislation

HALIFAX — A large crowd gathered in front of the Nova Scotia legislature Wednesday, calling on the provincial government to revive abandoned legislation to protect the province’s 13,000 kilometres of shoreline.

Holding signs reading “save our shores,” protesters denounced the Progressive Conservative government’s decision in February against putting into force the Coastal Protection Act, which was passed in 2019 by the former Liberal government with support from all parties in the legislature. The act would have offered more protection to coastal areas, dunes and salt marshes, and restricted development along parts of the coastline at risk of heavy erosion.

Organizers said more than 150 people attended the protest, which included representatives from several environmental organizations, as well as coastal land owners and politicians, including Liberal Leader Zach Churchill and NDP Leader Claudia Chender.

Maggy Burns, executive director of the Halifax-based Ecology Action Centre, told the crowd the government has provided no “credible rationale” for its decision to abandon the act and instead shift much of the responsibility for coastal protection to property owners and municipalities.

“During (post-tropical storm) Fiona we lost huge sections of our shoreline on the northern coast of Nova Scotia and in Cape Breton,” Burns said about the 2022 storm. “The Coastal Protection Act is designed to protect homes, protect taxpayers and protect the critical ecosystems that we depend on.”

The government’s new policy has simply left municipalities “holding the bag” while Nova Scotians face an “incomprehensible patchwork of rules,” she said.

“Pick up a lawn sign, keep calling your MLAs, visit their offices and let them know that this is an election issue for you,” Burns urged the crowd. “Let’s say to the government loud and clear: keep your promises, listen to Nova Scotians and show us the leadership that’s so clearly needed.”

The government’s alternative to the Coastal Protection Act has 15 measures, including one offering homeowners and municipalities access to an online hazard map that shows the worst-case scenario for sea level rise along the coast in the year 2100. 

The province will also fund a new coastal protection co-ordinator for the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities, who will help local governments that lack the resources to deal with coastal development issues.

But Robert Parker, Warden of the Municipality of Pictou County, said in an interview he’s skeptical the approach will work in the rural communities he represents.

“Right now the premier has said we’ll give you the information and you guys decide on your own,” Parker said. “That’s no more the right thing to do than saying here’s the information for driving on the highway — you pick the speed you think you should go at.”

Parker said a uniform set of rules is needed across the province in order to let people know where and how they can build on the coast.

“We can’t have a patchwork system, which is what’s going to happen if we go municipally,” he said.

Victoria Byrne, who has owned a coastal home for nearly 60 years on Shag Bay outside Halifax, said she’s experienced what can happen when there are no clear development rules for builders and homeowners.

“Over the last 50 years people have developed on one side of me, which has changed the way the sand moves and the waves move and they impact the actual land itself,” Byrne said. “So I’m not only losing beach, but I’m losing my shoreline as well.”

More than one metre has been eroded from the shore near her home, Byrne said, adding that it has become “a much different place.” Byrne said she believes the province needs to take responsibility.

“There needs to be a uniform set of rules and education as well,” she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 8, 2024.

Keith Doucette, The Canadian Press