Port-aux-Perdrix
Port-aux-Perdrix
Port Partridge | |
|---|---|
Village | |
 Port-aux-Perdrix Harbour | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
| Motto(s): Nous endurerons English: We will endure | |
 Port-aux-Perdrix's location in Iylan Province. | |
| Country | Rhodevus |
| Province | Iylan Province |
| County | Hauteterre |
| Incorporated | 1873 |
| Founded by | Jean-Baptise Chiasson |
| Electoral District | Hauteterre—Lijlan-d'Est |
| Government | |
| • Type | County Council |
| • Body | Conseil du comté Hauteterre |
| • Warden | Rhéal Caron (Parti Conservateur d'Iylan) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 8.2 km2 (3.2 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 3 m (10 ft) |
| Population (2015) | |
| • Total | 639 |
| • Density | 78/km2 (200/sq mi) |
Port-aux-Perdrix (/ˌpɔɹt oʊ ˈpɛəɹdɹiː/, French: /ˌpɔʁ o pɛʁˈdʁi/) is a unincorporated community located in Hauteterre county, Iylan Province, Rhodevus. It is situated on the southern shore of Partridge Bay (Baie du Perdrix), an inlet of the Lutetian Ocean on the eastern coast of the Saint-Jean peninsula. Port-aux-Perdrix was founded in 1873 by French-speaking settlers, who named it for the abundance of partridges living in the forests around the bay. After reaching a peak population of 2,076 in 1925, Port-aux-Perdrix's population fell gradually, counting 639 residents in 2015.
The village lies in the francophone areas of Rhodevus, and a large majority of its inhabitants count French as their mother tongue. Port-aux-Perdrix relies heavily on fishing as a source of income and is the main employer in the community, though the population continues to decrease along with economic output, accelerated by the opening of a cannery in Baie St.-Paul, twelve kilometres southeast, pulling more jobs away from the community. Port-aux-Perdrix, along with many other rural communities in Rhodevus, is beginning to rely on higher levels of government for assistance as the viability of subsiding off fishing alone decreases.
History
The area Port-aux-Perdrix occupies today has been known and explored for thousands of years by indigenous peoples, primarily the Ghong, who called it iqalukkuit, meaning "rivers of fish". The first explorers are believed to have come in the early 16th century, with the first definitive account of the area recorded in 1568 by Georges Éupéry de Montblanc. It is inferred that no indigenous settlements existed on the bay at this time, or rather that they were seasonal, as the main inhabited regions were south past Cap Sainte-Marie, and de Montblanc makes no mention of any encounter in his daybook.
Nous traversâmes aujourd'hui un point, je présume le Cap Sainte-Marie, à travers lequel y était une baie d'eau dans en terre boisée. Lors de l'entrée des eaux dociles, on voyait plusieurs gibiers à plumes. Nous montrerons notre camp ici ce soir- il y a sûrement un abondance de nourriture dans les eaux et à terre.
We rounded today a point, I presume to be the Cap Sainte-Marie, across which lay a bay of water in a forested land. Upon entering the calm waters, many gamebirds were seen. We make our camp here tonight; there is surely plentiful food to be found in the waters and in the land.— Un racont des voyages au Nord et la vie de Georges Éupéry de Montblanc (1575)
First Settlements
Although first discovered in 1568, the bay was not settled until the early 1740s, when fishermen looking for less crowded land on which to live moved northwards, mainly from the larger city of Acadia. The first families to occupy the area were the Caron, Blanchet, and Chiasson families. As the settlement's population grew, the decision was made to fortify the community, beginning with a wooden rampart in 1755, providing a safe haven for small ships in the northern parts of Rhodevus, which proved to be important in the unrest that followed over the next century.
Jean-Baptiste Chiasson, a minister from Baie St.-Paul, established the church of Notre-Dame-la-sauveuse-du-peuple-en-Port-aux-Perdrix in 1869, taking the name for the church from the bay described by de Montblanc three centuries earlier. The church became the focal point of the sprouting fishing community, and an attractive draw for new settlers, with more than 30 families arriving in the next decade. The village was incorporated as a town on December 3, 1873, one of the first towns incorporated in Hauteterre County.
Raid on Icaloucouit
On the evening of August 4, 1742, the Ghong tribe local to the area raided the burgeoning settlement, which at that time counted 80 people, 50 of whom were fishermen, vital to the community. The raiders took 3 men hostage, and killed 2 more before retreating to their own settlement. Today, a plaque acknowledges the event on the outskirts of the community, though while the raid was once seen as an example of native aggression towards settlers, it is now being recognized as a symptom of a larger system of repression in which the indigenous peoples gradually lost rights, land and possessions to the new settlers, and where resistance was brutally punished.
The governor of the contemporaneous northern territories recounts in a daybook:
[...] il y eut un terrible assaut directé vers une colonie dessous mon contrôle il y a une quinzaine. Des quatre-vingt colons, trois seraient tués, et deux ne retourneraient jamais, prises par les agresseurs. Un véritable désastre.
... there had been a terrible attack on one settlement under my control, a fortnight ago. Of the eighty settlers, three would be killed, and two more would never return. A true disaster.— François Royer, Gouverneur des Territoires septentrionaux provisionnels (1742)
The Rhodeve Empire
The people in Port-aux-Perdrix did not learn of the events that took place in 1754, where Emilia Hart gained power and transformed Rhodevus into an empire, until nearly 3 years after the events had taken place. By this time, Rhodevus had begun engaging in naval warfare across Sunalaya, and international trade became much more lucrative. Goods in Rhodevus became cheaper and more affordable for the people in Port-aux-Perdrix, which led to a higher quality of life and a population increase in the years thereafter.
The Rhodeve Collapse
Main article: The Rhodeve Collapse
Port-aux-Perdrix is furthermore known as the final resting place of two naval military commanders, Wulffe Lindholm from Talvistova and Wülfric von Edelhols from the Düotinnari Kingdom, renowned for their skills during the Rhodeve Collapse of 1840 to 1845. They are buried in the Cendres-des-anges-descendus-du-ciel-vers-Saint-Michel-d'Acadie cemetery on the southern extent of the community, the main cemetery associated with the Notre-Dame-la-sauveuse-du-peuple-en-Port-aux-Perdrix church. Although now famous partly because of the collapse and the famous burials, Port-aux-Perdrix was largely unaffected by the conflict, counting only an estimated 100 to 120 people during that time period. Notably, a farmer from the outskirts of Rome, Herbert Lemaître, was the first to bring hardier crops north to Port-aux-Perdrix, allowing the cultivation of wheat and rye in the short summers, leading to a more stable and varied food supply. Descendants of Lemaître still run the original farm about two kilometres north of the village centre.
1920s Boom Town, the World Wars and the Great Depression
During both world wars, Port-aux-Perdrix was hit hard by food and supply rationing. Prices increased exponentially for household items, making everyday life less affordable. In a sense, the Great Depression never ended in Rhodeve fishing towns as it had for the rest of the country. The aid given by the government in the 1930s simply was not adequate to regulate prices. Fish prices stayed low as the market was over-saturated, a trend that began in the 1920s and continued through the following two decades. Prices for other goods such as manufactured items and refined foods stayed high, as the demand was higher than the smaller workforce could provide.
In contrast, the 1920s is considered the heyday of Port-aux-Perdrix and the fishing industry. The international economy was strong, and products could be exported all over the globe, despite the over-saturation of the domestic market. Fishing became more lucrative than ever, and more people could afford items previously considered luxuries, like oranges from tropical regions or fresh apples in the winter. Industrial companies began to capitalize on the leftover fish that could not be sold by canning it and shipping it out across the globe, providing a source of employment for the coastal towns. For the first time in its history, the employment rate in Port-aux-Perdrix hit nearly one hundred percent, peaking at 99.1% in early 1928. As the world markets became saturated with manufactured goods, however, prices steadily dropped, and by September 1929 the world economy was in freefall, culminating in the largest stock market crash in history.
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All but one of the canning plants near Port-aux-Perdrix closed between 1930 and 1933, putting nearly a thousand people out of work. They soon went back to fishing as they had previously, but the prices were not suitable for sustainable fishing in the long-term, and more fish needed to be sold in order to survive. This led to the first depopulation of fish in the bay, where a sharp drop in both numbers and diversity affected the local ecosystems, and put many out of work again. By the time of the arrival of the government's unemployment insurance in 1934, the unemployment rate in Port-aux-Perdrix had hit nearly 40%. Both the fish stocks and the local economy would never recover until the early 2000s. In 1935, after losing a quarter of its population in the last decade, Port-aux-Perdrix was unincorporated and made a community, governed directly from Kikitamouk, the seat of the county.
The depression continued along the coast until the end of the Second World War, but the conflict had no real effect on the community until conscription was introduced in 1943. Of the nearly 1200 residents, 12 went to fight for the Rhodeve army, one of whom, Bernard Gâchon, was famous for using his whaling harpoon in the field of battle. Of the twelve who fought during the war, only 6 came back to the community afterwards, including Bernard Gâchon, who was killed on the 6th of November, 1944.
Slow Decline
Since 1945, the community has been decreasing in population, mainly due to emigration, especially to other areas of Rhodevus, in search of a job. Since 1920, the population of the village has been more than halved, from a peak in 1929 of more than two thousand, to fewer than seven hundred residents in 2015. The economy of the area has tried to diversify without much success, although the government now runs a tourist program that covers all of the eastern coast of Iylan province, contributing to a recent foray by the county into a cottage resort near the community. The decline in the population of the village has been accelerated by the opening of a cannery in nearby Baie St.-Paul, which, being reasonably close to the community, is an economic factor drawing residents away. The former warden of the county, Gilles de Rochambeau, grew up in Port-aux-Perdrix but left for Kikitamouk once having been elected and never returned.
The citizens of the community have been requesting help from the government to help them survive ever since the moratorium on fishing in 1998, which devastated the town. Fish stocks remain low, but the allowances are strict and not enough to survive. The community has requested aid in opening a factory, of any kind, near the village so that their way of life can persist. The government has been reluctant to offer any aid, presenting instead the idea that they may need to be relocated in order to subsist. The warden of the county has also presented the idea of petitioning international governments for aid in finding a company interested in opening a factory near them.
Geography
Port-aux-Perdrix lies at the point where the Ruisselet des Bouleaux meets the Baie du Perdrix, in the northwestern corner of the bay. The original settlement founded by Montblanc is estimated to lie further south in the bay, though no trace remains. Baie du Perdrix is mostly shallow, but had a channel dredged in the 1920s to accommodate larger vessels. The community lies on the eastern shore of the Saint Jean peninsula, the most remote maritime region of northern Rhodevus. Originally, the area was inhabited by indigenous peoples, primarily the Ghong, however since the complete colonization of Rhodevus, the majority of indigenous peoples in northern Rhodevus have been placed in reservations, Iylan province being no exception. Fifty-two kilometres to the west of Port-aux-Perdrix lies the Ghong reservation of Akiani, with a population of ninety-two. The reservation is governed directly from the federal level, however the community is considered neglected by the federal government and has lobbied for aid from other levels of government, as is the typical situation in many reservations in Rhodevus. North of the reservation is a the Akuliaq National Park and Wildlife Reserve, which occupies a large space of the mountains in the interior of the Saint Jean peninsula.
Though the lands to the west and north of Port-aux-Perdrix are mountainous and mostly barren, Port-aux-Perdrix lies in a subtle valley developed by the Ruisselet des Bouleaux. The forest cover around the village is a mix of coniferous and deciduous, whereas inland it is overwhelmingly coniferous, due to the milder temperatures and more developed soils around the bay. Around twelve thousand years ago, when the vast majority of Rhodevus was covered under ice sheets and glaciers, a proglacial river flowed out near where Port-aux-Perdrix lies today, out to the sea an estimated further twenty kilometres, as the sea levels were much lower. The soils deposited by this river were the top layers of soil stripped from other regions by the glacier, and contribute to the favourable soil conditions around Port-aux-Perdrix. Some deposits in the ancient riverbed match the composition of some soils nearly three hundred kilometres to the north.
Geology
The geological features underlying Port-aux-Perdrix are largely consistent with the geologic province in which it is located, the Rhodeve shield. The bedrock underneath most of Port-aux-Perdrix is made up of acidic intrusive igneous rock, consistent with the granitic formations of the Rhodeve shield. The granitic formations are partially overlain with an intermediate intrusive igneous formation, resembling the diorite found further north in the Saint-Jean peninsula, thought to have been partially carried southwards by the movement of glaciers during the ice ages. The igneous formations in this area are considered to be some of the oldest in the world, tentatively dated to around three and a half billion years ago. To the south of Port-aux-Perdrix is a formation of high and medium grade metamorphic rocks, mostly marble, gneiss and schist. This is consistent with the formation of the Lijlan mountain range that makes up the eastern Saint-Jean peninsula, part of the eastern maritime orogeny that occured around five hundred million years ago when the Lutetian plate subducted underneath the North Corentian plate. In addition, the proglacial river that flowed for almost twenty thousand years into the Lutetian ocean, now represented by the Ruisselet des Bouleaux, laid down several layers of sedimentary stone of varying particle sizes, including sandstone, siltstones, shales and mudstones.
Pedology
The soils of Port-aux-Perdrix are surprisingly varied for a previously glaciated area, as much of the topsoil should have been stripped away by the gouging force of the advancing ice. However, the proglacial river that flowed out into the bay carried sediment from a variety of regions into its delta, depositing them in an alluvial fan. Further into the Lutetian ocean, a terminal moraine of the ice sheet can be found. Soil around the Cap des pioniers is luvisolic, evidence of sedimentary deposits upriver now destroyed by the glaciation, and stabilized in their current location by the tamarack trees that thrive in the more basic conditions.
Brunisolic soils found immediately north of the village are also evidence of sedimentary bedrock now erased by glaciation and are thought to originate somewhere far west of the Saint Jean peninsula, possibly somewhere that is now underwater. Brunisolic soils are conducive to both deciduous and coniferous forest cover, and harbour some of the most northerly deciduous forests in the world. However, the vast majority of soil in Port-aux-Perdrix is of the podzolic type, and is presumed to have developed very recently. The podzolic soils are very thin and populated almost exclusively by coniferous species, and as a consequence are very acidic. Podzolic soils have a tendency to leach iron and clay from water, making them very poor for farming.
Additionally, regosolic soils can be found in and around the Lijlan mountains, as the slopes of the mountains are unstable and not conducive to deeper soil formation, where rainwaters wash most of the accumulated sediment down into river valleys. The creek flowing into the Baie du Perdrix is somewhat stable, and therefore no regosolic soils form in the floodplain. Instead, organic soils made up mainly of decaying river plant matter fill the areas in and around the river. The organic soil of the riverbed is somewhat acidic and boggy, making for poor quality farming conditions near the river. Therefore, the only soils especially suited to farming are located mostly north of Port-aux-Perdrix and not in the village centre.
Climate
Port-aux-Perdrix has a subarctic climate, belonging to the Köppen Dfc subtype. The variations during a year can be divided into four distinct seasons, although spring and autumn may be considerably shorter than summer and winter. The average July maximum temperature is 12.4°C (54.3°F), and the average January minimum temperature is -19.8°C (-3.6°F).
Summers are mild and relatively humid for the region, affected by the moderating effect of the ocean. The average high reaches above 10 degrees Celsius in only two months, July and August. On average, 11 days a year have temperatures above 20 degrees Celsius, though the record highs have reached much higher. If the humidex is considered, 37 days a year have temperatures above 20 degrees.
Snow and ice dominate the winter season, with very little rain falling as temperatures rarely reach above the freezing point. On average, Port-aux-Perdrix receives 47 centimetres of snow a year, and retains nearly 30 centimetres of snowpack throughout the winter season. 36 days of the winter months experience lows below -30 degrees Celsius, or 51 days if the wind chill is considered.
Spring and fall are short and variable, prone to temperature extremes and unpredictable swings in both precipitation amounts and temperatures. Days above 15 degrees have occurred as early as April and as late as September. Annual precipitation averages around 950 millimetres.
| Climate data for Port-aux-Perdrix, 1985-2010 normals and extremes | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high Humidex | 8.7 | 7.8 | 9.8 | 16.6 | 24.3 | 31.3 | 32.5 | 29.5 | 26.4 | 16.6 | 10.0 | 4.5 | 32.5 |
| Record high °C (°F) | 5.6 (42.1) |
6.1 (43.0) |
8.2 (46.8) |
15.0 (59.0) |
17.4 (63.3) |
18.9 (66.0) |
24.7 (76.5) |
25.2 (77.4) |
19.1 (66.4) |
11.2 (52.2) |
8.1 (46.6) |
6.1 (43.0) |
25.2 (77.4) |
| Average high °C (°F) | −8.1 (17.4) |
−8.6 (16.5) |
−5.3 (22.5) |
−2.3 (27.9) |
5.2 (41.4) |
9.6 (49.3) |
12.4 (54.3) |
11.7 (53.1) |
9.5 (49.1) |
5.0 (41.0) |
−0.2 (31.6) |
−3.4 (25.9) |
2.1 (35.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −12.2 (10.0) |
−13.1 (8.4) |
−9.1 (15.6) |
−5.8 (21.6) |
−0.7 (30.7) |
4.9 (40.8) |
6.7 (44.1) |
6.2 (43.2) |
4.2 (39.6) |
2.5 (36.5) |
−3.6 (25.5) |
−5.7 (21.7) |
−2.1 (28.2) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −19.8 (−3.6) |
−21.6 (−6.9) |
−15.1 (4.8) |
−5.2 (22.6) |
−2.6 (27.3) |
−0.2 (31.6) |
2.1 (35.8) |
3.2 (37.8) |
3.1 (37.6) |
−2.4 (27.7) |
−5.2 (22.6) |
−14.2 (6.4) |
−6.5 (20.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −39.4 (−38.9) |
−40.1 (−40.2) |
−36.2 (−33.2) |
−32.7 (−26.9) |
−17.5 (0.5) |
−6.7 (19.9) |
−7.1 (19.2) |
−5.2 (22.6) |
−13.8 (7.2) |
−17.1 (1.2) |
−19.3 (−2.7) |
−24.8 (−12.6) |
−40.1 (−40.2) |
| Record low wind chill | −52.9 | −59.5 | −54.0 | −41.3 | −20.8 | −10.1 | −5.0 | −3.4 | −9.1 | −31.2 | −33.3 | −55.5 | −59.5 |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 83.8 (3.30) |
70.9 (2.79) |
73.6 (2.90) |
71.1 (2.80) |
57.0 (2.24) |
83.4 (3.28) |
98.6 (3.88) |
71.5 (2.81) |
81.9 (3.22) |
74.2 (2.92) |
77.6 (3.06) |
81.9 (3.22) |
919.5 (36.20) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 3.1 (0.12) |
5.1 (0.20) |
5.5 (0.22) |
14.1 (0.56) |
30.2 (1.19) |
70.1 (2.76) |
98.6 (3.88) |
71.5 (2.81) |
79.9 (3.15) |
49.7 (1.96) |
14.1 (0.56) |
8.4 (0.33) |
450.3 (17.74) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 80.9 (31.9) |
65.9 (25.9) |
68.2 (26.9) |
56.9 (22.4) |
26.7 (10.5) |
13.3 (5.2) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
2.0 (0.8) |
24.5 (9.6) |
63.5 (25.0) |
73.4 (28.9) |
475.3 (187.1) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 14.1 | 12.0 | 13.1 | 13.7 | 13.0 | 15.0 | 16.0 | 15.4 | 15.3 | 14.6 | 13.8 | 14.1 | 170.1 |
| Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 3.4 | 8.3 | 14.2 | 16.2 | 15.4 | 15.2 | 10.1 | 3.1 | 1.8 | 91.3 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) | 13.9 | 11.7 | 12.8 | 12.2 | 7.7 | 2.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 7.4 | 12.6 | 13.3 | 95.3 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 54.4 | 56.7 | 64.3 | 74.4 | 75.1 | 77.7 | 76.5 | 71.2 | 65.3 | 60.9 | 55.5 | 55.1 | 65.6 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 99.3 | 131.3 | 167.1 | 189.8 | 229.8 | 254.2 | 279.0 | 249.3 | 177.6 | 139.4 | 84.3 | 82.6 | 2,083.7 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 35.0 | 44.9 | 45.3 | 46.9 | 49.9 | 54.3 | 58.9 | 57.1 | 47.1 | 41.0 | 29.4 | 30.3 | 45.0 |
| Source: Département national rhodève de la météorologie | |||||||||||||
Environment
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The environment of Port-aux-Perdrix counts many species of flora and fauna, with an estimated total of nearly 5000 species of plant and animal found in and around the area of the community. Owing to the unique mix of soils, a larger variety of plant life can be found in the valley in which Port-aux-Perdrix is situated than other areas nearby. The unique diversity of plants foster an incredible diversity in animal life that inhabits the area, both on land and in the water. The Rhodeve Nature Conservation Society estimated that the total species count in northern Iylan Province was slightly more than 7500, a relatively low number compared to areas south of Iylan, though this is mostly do to the arctic and subarctic climates to which fewer species are suitably adapted. In its 2019 report, the Rhodeve Nature Conservation Society noted that Port-aux-Perdrix was an "unusual focal point" for species diversity in the area of North Iylan.
Port-aux-Perdrix is not known to be polluted, in fact, it is among Rhodevus' least polluted areas, owing to the lack of opportunity for heavy industry that could contaminate the air and water systems. However, during the 1920s and 30s, when the area around Port-aux-Perdrix was more economically active and of greater importance, the introduction of unused fish material back into the streams and rivers in the area created the perfect conditions for eutrophication, where nutrients from the decaying organic matter caused widespread algal blooms in waterways, deoxygenating them and thereby killing many freshwater fish and plants that inhabited the affected areas.
Species at risk & conservation
Of the 7591 species identified as inhabiting North Iylan, and of those which inhabit the are of Port-aux-Perdrix, only 22 were identified as "Vulnerable" or lower (i.e. "Endangered" or "Severely endagered") on the Rhodeve Nature Conservation Society's Species Status Registry, implying that it is possible that these 22 species could be extirpated within the next fifty years, some as soon as within the next five. Both the Rhodeve government, at various levels, and private organizations operate conservation programs including the area of Port-aux-Perdrix, the largest of which is the Akuliaq National Park and Wildlife Reserve to the west of the community. The government of Rhodevus allows members of native reservations, such as the Akiani Ghong Reservation to hunt and trap species that would normally be protected by conservation laws, provided hunting methods that do not pose a threat to other aspects of the environment are used. The right of native peoples in Rhodevus to hunt on their traditional lands varies from tribe to tribe and is based on the land treaty signed between the Rhodeve government or colonizing power and the indigenous tribe, some of which date back nearly a half millenium.
Demographics
| Historic Population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1880 | 421 | — |
| 1890 | 503 | +19.5% |
| 1900 | 623 | +23.9% |
| 1910 | 850 | +36.4% |
| 1920 | 1,271 | +49.5% |
| 1925 | 2,076 | +63.3% |
| 1930 | 1,854 | −10.7% |
| 1935 | 1,543 | −16.8% |
| 1945 | 1,153 | −25.3% |
| 1955 | 1,082 | −6.2% |
| 1965 | 1,042 | −3.7% |
| 1975 | 994 | −4.6% |
| 1985 | 901 | −9.4% |
| 1995 | 903 | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 819 | −9.3% |
| 2015 | 639 | −22.0% |
Religion in Port-aux-Perdrix (2015)
In 2015, the population of Port-aux-Perdrix was 639, with a population density of 78/km2 through the village's 8.2 square kilometres. Port-aux-Perdrix is the 28th largest community in Hauteterre County and the 1077th largest community in Iylan Province. The median age of Port-aux-Perdrix's population is 61.8, well above the provincial and national averages. People aged 15 and under make up 13% of the population, while people aged 65 and over make up 23%.
Approximately 78% of residents in Port-aux-Perdrix identified as Catholic in 2010, with a further 11% identifying with another form of Christianity and 1% of residents affiliated with Islam. Just over 9% of residents identified with no religion or as irreligious. Religion in Port-aux-Perdrix strongly correlates with ethnic background. 98% of residents identified as Rhodeve, while 2% were of a minority ethnicity, mostly of Ghong native ancestry. 97% of residents chose French as their mother tongue, 2% Ghong and 1% English.
Fewer than a third of residents had graduated from a post-secondary institution in 2015, continuing a trend found throughout rural Iylan province. In addition, only a little over half had graduated from secondary education, marking one of the lowest rates for a community in Hauteterre county. Along with lower rates of higher education, Port-aux-Perdrix has an unemployment rate of nearly 23 percent, mainly due to a collapse of the fishing industry in the area. A majority of residents in Port-aux-Perdrix identified that they rely at least partially on government assistance to remain financially stable. The median annual income in 2015 was 33 450 Rhodes, a decrease of nearly 5 percent from the previous census.
Economy
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Port-aux-Perdrix was once a major economic hub in the north of Iylan, but has since been overtaken by other communities as the longterm economic viability of the village has rapidly decreased. Port-aux-Perdrix had its economic heyday in the 1920s, when fish were still plentiful and the international market welcomed the over-harvesting of Rhodeve fish stocks, especially cod. The beginning of the worldwide economic downturn in 1929 that would lead to a depression that would last a decade, permanently stunted the economic possibilities in Port-aux-Perdrix. After the moratorium on fishing introduced in 1998, the possibility of an economic comeback was all but destroyed.
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Today, economic growth in Port-aux-Perdrix is stagnant, though various levels of government are attempting to revive the region. Instead of focusing on fishing, a moribund industry in the area, many programs focus on tourism in hoping to bring potential into the region. In addition, logging has always been an industry in the interior, west of Port-aux-Perdrix, though it has largely been overshadowed by the fishing industry. Charpentiylan and Il était un bois are the major employers in the logging industry near Port-aux-Perdrix. Twelve kilometres to the southeast of the community is the village of Baie St.-Paul, where a cannery owned by the Produits Océaniques Food Group is one of the last remaining fishing employers in the region. In Kikitamouk, the seat of the county, public service jobs relating to local government are the major employer, as are private sector services such as sporting venues and senior care facilities. In Port-aux-Perdrix proper, restaurants and farming are the major employers, though restaurants rarely survive long due to the fluctuation between summer tourist revenues and the winter lull. The local elementary school is another source of employment for a few in Port-aux-Perdrix, though it is theorized that it will be forced to close as well, owing to the shrinking demand as fewer people are born in the community.
Infrastructure
Emergency services
Policing in Port-aux-Perdrix is provided by the Royal Rhodeve Mounted Police (RRMP), whose local division is headquartered in Kikitamouk. Port-aux-Perdrix is the largest settlement within the 'C' policing quadrant, with a regular 5 officer patrol assigned to it. The division headquarters in Kikitamouk is responsible for the administration of municipal bylaw and traffic infractions within the zone. The Services des incendies de Kikitamouk d'extérieur is responsible for handling Port-aux-Perdrix's fire services, ambulance rescue services, rescue operations services and hazardous waste or materials recovery services. In 1970, 911 services were installed, meaning that dialing 911 will connect the caller to an emergency services call dispatch centre, located in Kikitamouk, where the call and information can be relayed to the correct department for faster resolution. Health services are provided by the Hôpital régional rural Sacré-Cœur-et-sœurs-du-couvent-de-Kikitamouk, which serves Port-aux-Perdrix and other rural regions of north Iylan. The hospital's primary care centre has a broad range of medical professionals and practitioners, including physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, counsellors and dietitians. The primary care centre also offers services dealing with mental health (where dialing 311 will connect directly to a crisis help line), medical education, diagnostics, diagnostic imaging, remote tele-medicine, psychiatry and home care services.
Utilities
Communications
Telephone services in Port-aux-Perdrix were established in 1953 by the independent Service Téléphonique Hauteterre, but was sold to the conglomerate North Rhodevus Telephone Company, now known as NorRhoTel, in 1964. NorRhoTel began providing manual mobile telephone services on VHF frequencies in 1998, and expanded their market into cellular telephone service coverage over the area in 2002. Encouraged by the ruling Conservative government in Rhodevus, another private company, IceTel, was introduced as a competitor to NorRhoTel in 2008, providing both landline and cellular phone coverage to Hauteterre County.
Television capabilities were first installed in Port-aux-Perdrix in 1970, though the first over-the-air broadcasts were only able to be viewed in 1971, when the signal strength of the broadcasts in Acadia was upgraded. Cable television was added shortly after in 1973, which was subsequently upgraded and converted to digital television in 2011. The television network that serves Port-aux-Perdrix is currenty also owned by NorRhoTel.
Electricity
Electricity is provided to Port-aux-Perdrix by Utilités du Nord, which owns the Centrale électrique d'houille d'Iylan du Nord coal-fired power plant south of Kikitamouk. The power plant serves nearly 6,000 residents and 800 commercial customers, at a rate of 103.2 megawatts. The coal-fired plant is the last of its kind in Iylan, and is set to be phased out with hydroelectric, wind and marine (tidal) power generation by 2030.
Solid waste services
As with many rural areas of Iylan, residential garbage removal is based on a user pay system, in which residents of northern Iylan are allowed three bags of 77 litres each per week, while any additional bags have to be purchased and marked with a tag from the local county government. The county owns a landfill to the south of Baie St.-Paul, into which the solid waste from Port-aux-Perdrix and other areas is deposited. Salvaging is encouraged at this landfill, in an effort to decrease total waste, increase landfill capacity and promote reusage of products. That which is not salvaged will be taken underground into an incinerator to be burnt and the heat generated used to supplement the power grid.
Water and sewage removal
As Port-aux-Perdrix is an unincorporated settlement, its governmental affairs are directly managed from the county seat in Kikitamouk. Port-aux-Perdrix does not receive pressurized water nor sewage removal through underground piping, instead, residents of Port-aux-Perdrix rely on individual wells for water supply and septic tanks for sewage storage. Septic tank management is left up to residents, though the county government recommends that septic tanks be pumped and emptied every five to six years. The sewage from the septic tanks is taken by trucks to the sewage treatment facility in Kikitamouk, which consists of multiple specially-designed pools, in which it is allowed to decompose naturally. As the groundwater in Port-aux-Perdrix is naturally hard (contains high levels of dissolved minerals), many houses in Port-aux-Perdrix are equipped with a water softener to replace some dissolved minerals with sodium-based ones, which stay better dissolved in water even as the water is heated and cooled repeatedly.
Transportation
Port-aux-Perdrix is fairly isolated geographically, and the area in which it exists is sparsely populated, with few major population centres. It is serviced by the rural Kikitamouk Airfield for air travel, though float planes can be landed on the calm waters of the Baie du Perdrix in the summertime. Kikitamouk Airfield is one of the busiest airports in northern Iylan, and is considered the regional hub for air travel. In 2019, more than 20 000 tonnes of cargo and more than 300 000 passengers. While Kikitamouk Airfield is a sizeable airport, it does not handle international flights, and passengers coming from outside Rhodevus must first stop in Acadia to catch a connecting flight to Kikitamouk.
Road construction in Port-aux-Perdrix is not affected by permafrost, which begins some 50 kilometres to the north of the settlement. It is, however, incredibly remote and is only linked by one highway, the A38, through Kikitamouk and Baie St.-Paul and southwards to Acaida. In the settlement itself, roads are gravel with the exception of the main street, "La grande rue", which is paved and considerably wider than other roads, measuring a consistent 13.5 metres (44 feet) across, while gravel roads vary in width but undoubtedly thinner. Gravel roads are considered cheaper to maintain than paved roads this far north, as regular snow removal and freeze-thaw cycles during the winter months damage asphalt and require it to be patched or repaved more frequently. A blanket speed limit of 50 km/h (31 mph) covers the entire area of Port-aux-Perdrix, with the exception of Highway A38, where the the speed limit is 100 km/h (62 mph).
One bus line serves Port-aux-Perdrix and runs four times daily (twice in the morning, twice in the afternoon) from the main street to Kikitamouk, following the A38. At one time, a taxi service existed in Port-aux-Perdrix, serving the entire settlement and connecting it to nearby cities, though it closed in 1999. A ferry service run by Traversiers industriels rhodèves connects Port-aux-Perdrix directly with Baie St.-Paul and from there to Acadia and further south, though it only runs from May through September, depending on the weather. Iylan rural train service line number 8 runs from Acadia to Kikitamouk, and while it is mostly used by cargo trains carrying goods such as coal and oil, passenger trains operate on the line as well, twice a day.
Education
Port-aux-Perdrix is currently only home to École primaire Jean-Baptiste Chiasson (commonly abbreviated J.-B. Chiasson), which provides education to children in Port-aux-Perdrix from grade 1 through grade 6 (ages 6 to 12), at which point the children would attend a high school outside of Port-aux-Perdrix, most commonly in Kikitamouk as the daily commute is the shortest. Kindergarten or preschool is not offered at the school, as there is not enough of a requirement to justify the extra funds and expenses required to operate a preschool program. The settlement's only daycare, Garderie Linda serves essentially in the place of a dedicated preschool or kindergarten, though it is not licensed as a proper education establishment. As enrolment decreases along with the total population of the village, it is possible that there may not be enough pupils to justify the elementary school remaining open in the near future.
Culture
The culture of Port-aux-Perdrix revolves around the community's fiercely independent identity, where Francophone identity plays a large role in the townspeople's aversion to the Anglophone majority in Rhodevus. Once having been a self-sufficient town, many residents still carry with them the traditions of fishing and self-reliance, which have also shaped Port-aux-Perdrix's identity.
Events
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- Festival annuel de la pêcherie à Port-aux-Perdrix (Port Partridge Annual Fishery Festival): The festival is held every year on the second Sunday in April, a time which once marked the breakup of sea ice and the beginning of the new fishing season. Fishermen and mongers display their products in the main street, and boats can be chartered for leisure trips while a guide explains the traditions of the fishing industry in the area.
- L'expo-sciences de l'école J.-B. Chiasson (J.-B. Chiasson School Science Fair): The elementary school in Port-aux-Perdrix holds its annual science fair in the month of March, in which students compete at different levels, demonstrating their knowledge of scientific concepts with both a local and international focus.
Attractions
- Église Notre-Dame-la-sauveuse-du-peuple-en-Port-aux-Perdrix: Port-aux-Perdrix's church is noted for its simple architecture, typical to the time period and for its altar, which had three times been threatened by fire but remained unscathed.
- Musée municipal: The "municipal museum" in Port-aux-Perdrix documents the community's history in fishing and its impact on Rhodevus and around the globe.
- La Grande Rue: The main street of the community is where most of the shops can be found, as well as the school and former town hall.
- Pascal le poisson: A statue of a giant cod, representing the history and origin of the community. Larger-than-life statues are common in rural towns in Rhodevus, as a way of generating interest and tourist income.
- Cimetière Cendres-des-anges-descendus-du-ciel-vers-Saint-Michel-d'Acadie: The cemetery of Port-aux-Perdrix is a National Historic Site of Rhodevus for the reason that two foreign naval commanders from the Rhodeve Collapse are interred there.
- Le grand quai: The dock and the surrounding area is a Provincial Historic Site as it preserves the structure and form of a late 19th-century fishing boom town dock system.
Media
The only newspaper currently published in Port-aux-Perdrix is Le pêcheur quotidien, "The Daily Fisherman", although it is expected that, as incentive grows for business to leave the community, the newspaper will stop being issued within the next half decade.
Radio
| Frequency | Call sign | Branding | Format | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FM 91.5 | RGDR-FM | Radio-Rhodévus Musique | Assorted music, Public radio | Rhodeve Broadcasting Corporation |
| FM 97.7 | RHPU-FM | ICI Radio-Rhodévus | Talk radio, Public radio | Rhodeve Broadcasting Corporation |
| FM 102.0 | REWQ-FM | 102.0 Les hits du jour | Contemporary music, Pop music | Radioprésenteurs NORD |
| FM 103.5 | RHAK-FM | La voix rurale | Community radio, Talk radio | Syndicat des pêcheurs d'Iylan |
| FM 104.1 | RFRA-FM | 104.1 Les Classiques | Classical music, Opera, Jazz | NorRhoTel |
| FM 107.8 | RROP-FM | Des 70, 80, 90! | Contemporary music, Rock Music | NorRhoTel |
Television
| OTA channel | Cable | Call sign | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 (VHF) | 1 | RAIG-DT | Télévision RBC | Hourly News, Weather. |
| 10 (VHF) | 2 | RGNI-DT | Télévision RBC | Sitcoms, Cartoons. |
| 14 (VHF) | 4 | RAAB-DT | NorRhoTel | Talk shows, Infomercials. |