RCMP detachment is example of Fort Good Hope’s erosion worries

Work is taking place to assess whether Fort Good Hope’s RCMP detachment needs to be relocated or rebuilt. It’s part of a broader community concern over riverbank erosion.

Studies have suggested 20 to 30 Fort Good Hope homes, the community’s reservoir and its cemetery are at some risk from erosion driven by the Mackenzie River.

For residents, the task of potentially relocating houses – or starting afresh farther from the river – is daunting.

Some public buildings in the Sahtu community of 600 people are affected, too.

This summer, the NWT government’s Department of Infrastructure issued a tender for work that will assess what should happen to Fort Good Hope’s riverside RCMP detachment.

The tender sought an “expedited” feasibility study of various options. In August, Yellowknife-based Trapline Engineering was chosen as the preferred contractor.

“The RCMP is proactively assessing feasibility of a relocation or rebuild of the detachment as part of our infrastructure planning,” a police spokesperson told Cabin Radio.

“Given that construction and infrastructure require lead time for planning, designing, and constructing, the RCMP considers the feasibility assessment as a priority to advance further planning considerations.”

The detachment was built in its present location in 1992.

A spokesperson for the Department of Infrastructure said a riverbank study ordered by the community’s K’asho Got’ı̨nę Housing Society “found that flooding and scouring at the base of the riverbank are factors contributing to slope instability, particularly near Old Town.”

That study “also notes that warming temperatures and the effects of climate change on permafrost may increase the rate of erosion over time, especially on west-facing slopes that receive more sunlight and areas where snow accumulates,” the department’s spokesperson added.

A staff member at the housing society declined to make the study available or discuss it, citing the number of private homes it assesses, but confirmed its existence.

Joseph Tobac – president of the Yamoga Land Corporation, which founded the housing society a decade ago – told Cabin Radio riverbank erosion is a key local concern, as it is in some other NWT communities.

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“We have a lot of housing along the riverbank there. The way climate change is moving – and we’re seeing a lot of erosion along the riverbed already – having these houses moved is still something that’s being looked at,” Tobac said last week.

“No one knows when the riverbank could move. It’s more susceptible during the springtime, during heavy rain. It’s a concern.”

According to the GNWT, reinforcing the riverbank near the RCMP compound is one option to be studied by the chosen contractor.

Once the feasibility study is complete, a spokesperson said, authorities will decide whether to rebuild, relocate or reinforce, and set a timeline for that work. The final study is expected by early 2027.

Tobac just presided over the grand opening of a trades centre in Fort Good Hope that builds modular homes.

He is looking at the erosion concern as an opportunity to attract funding that can help create local jobs, build houses and move people away from trouble spots near the river.

He pointed to a recent announcement of nearly $500 million from the federal Build Canada Homes program to pay for 560-plus NWT housing units.

With that money available, he said, “we’re looking to get some contracts secured for a number of homes.”

“We’re poised for construction of these homes and work around housing,” said Tobac.

“I think Fort Good Hope’s always taking the initiative and trying to be proactive around issues around housing. So we’re hopeful we could secure further funding to tackle this issue.”