Advocates say B.C. coastal strategy not enough to curtail waterfront development
British Columbia environmental groups say the province’s newly released Coastal Marine Strategy should be the first step toward a law that would protect coastal habitats from shoreline development.
Sea levels are expected to rise a meter by 2100 — a figure that would result in 13 square kilometres of additional floodplain in the city of Vancouver alone. Coastal communities of Newfoundland experienced the rise in storm severity firsthand in 2022, when hurricane Fiona ripped through, destroying 100 homes.
Increasingly harsh weather events are leading some property owners and communities to “harden” their shorelines, adding sea walls or jetties that protect houses from the ocean, sea level rise and weather events.The B.C. Coastal Marine Strategy was announced last month as a unifying vision to guide decision making on B.C.’s waterways and coastal resources for the next 20 years. It does not lay out a concrete plan of action and is not legally binding.
Kate MacMillan, conservation director of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, B.C., drew a parallel between what groups are advocating for in B.C. and what Nova Scotia went through with the fall-through of that province’s Coastal Protection Act. Winkler says those who did not respond were assumed by the government to be against the Coastal Protection Act, giving the PCs a reason to pivot from a legally binding act to an action plan in February.
“Affordable housing isn’t being built on the coast, right? Let’s be very honest about that one,” Winkler said.
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