Ottawa to assess impact of climate change on Nova Scotia’s land link to Canada

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The initiative comes amid increasing calls for something to be done to maintain the land link between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia by raising and reinforcing dikes at the narrow isthmus that joins the provinces and allow goods to travel to and from the busy port of Halifax.

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The dikes in the Tantramar Marshes were built by Acadian settlers for agricultural purposes in the 1700s. The Chignecto Isthmus was cut off for several days in an 1869 storm, according to a 2008 study by Memorial University geologist Norm Catto.

The study said the odds of a recurrence would increase as sea levels rise.

Last month, the NDP in Nova Scotia said it would introduce a private member’s bill requiring the province’s agriculture minister to take steps to maintain the low-lying area where the Trans-Canada Highway goes over the Tantramar Marshes. The party said the governing Liberals should spend at least $10 million per year on maintaining the dikes in each of the next five years.

Last fall, the mayor of Amherst also raised concerns about the condition of the historic Acadian dikes and their ability to hold back rising sea levels occurring due to climate change.

Mayor David Kogon has said sea levels are projected to rise in the Bay of Fundy over the next two decades to the point where the Chignecto Isthmus will flood even when there is no storm surge, leaving Nova Scotia cut off.

The area where flooding could occur includes 20 kilometres of the Trans-Canada Highway, 20 kilometres of CN Rail, 35 kilometres of electricity lines and 35 kilometres of dikes. The isthmus itself is a narrow, low-lying strip of land that is about 20 kilometres at its narrowest point.

At the time, he said he wanted all three levels of government to work together, adding the first step would be an engineering study to determine the scope of the required repairs.

The Nova Scotia government has said it is developing new design standards that incorporate sea level rise and storm surge into dike maintenance and construction.

The province has also said that in the Amherst area specifically, it has allocated $10 million be spent to replace the Laplanche aboiteau for local farmland.

The Canadian Press