Last week, after more than seven years as government MLAs, two wannabe premiers—Labi Kousoulis and Iain Rankin—proposed modest, provisional versions of the much-needed policy of rent control as part of their bids for the Liberal leadership.
Given that my NDP colleagues and I have been advocating for rent control since 2017 when we first introduced the Rental Fairness and Affordability Act, you can understand why I would be a little skeptical.
These commitments on housing policy from Liberal leadership hopefuls can’t make up for the losses already experienced by so many Nova Scotians. I am thinking of the former tenants at the many buildings across Halifax and Dartmouth that have hit the news in recent months who lost stability, money, and community when they were forced out of their homes by massive rent increases.
Faced with rent hikes in the hundreds of dollars a month, some people have literally lost the roofs over their heads and could end up joining the list—now approximately 400 names long—of those who have been homeless in the Halifax area for more than six months.
If the inboxes of Liberal MLAs are anything like those of our NDP caucus members, they will be full of demands for rent control and stories from tenants facing the impossible choice of finding additional rent money in stretched budgets—cutting back on food in many cases—or taking the risk of trying to find something they can actually afford in the current market.
In the case of Kousoulis, his commitment looks particularly thin, since just over a year ago he spoke against rent control in the Nova Scotia Legislature when the NDP’s Rental Fairness and Affordability Act was debated in the house.
We see from jurisdictions around the world that rent control works. It provides stability and security to long-standing tenants, and when used in tandem with leadership on building affordable housing, creates vibrant communities where people can afford to live.
Non-profit housing providers and co-ops have shown across the province and across the world that when the mission is to provide affordable, good housing, it is possible to accomplish that mission without exorbitant rent increases. That is why the NDP’s proposal for rapid acquisition of older buildings for social housing, through a right of first refusal by the province, has excited many people.
While both Kousoulis and Rankin call for the province to sit down with non-profit housing providers, HRM and landlords, the Liberal government has been at such tables for years, with a rotating cast of lead characters contributing no leadership and little money. These Liberal MLAs have sat in cabinet while the waitlist for public housing has ballooned, affordable housing units have disappeared, and potential landmark projects like what was planned for the Bloomfield site have languished. Why should tenants believe they will take action now?
There will always be a significant private sector role in the rental market, but any premier who sees housing as primarily a financial commodity—rather than a human right—will be ill-equipped to lead us out of our housing crisis.
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This article appears in Nov 1-30, 2020.
I worked damn hard spent time on social assistance got myself in college graduated got a great career with Nova Scotia health raised two children single mom and now here I am back on welfare and I feel like I am treated like I am less of a person. I paid into that pot of money in that pot to help other people why am I no different than anyone else I worked hard and the government turned around and screwed my life up gave child tax money to my ex without even asking me if our son really lived with him when he didn’t he lived with me over $10K they gave him and were charging me for over payment. After calling upon Trudeau being passed on to Diane ministry of revenue 84 pages of documentations and 9 months later, I lost my house I lost everything including my great credit ALL BECAUSE OUR GOVERNMENT ALLOWS ANYONE I MEAN ANYONE to apply for any child’s tax credit as long as they have there full name birthday and are already in the system with out question. I had to go bankrupt. I spent 10 years working at Nova Scotia health to be sexually assaulted by a patient, bullied, gossip and then had a breach happen by a employee to a patient and when I fought for my human rights there was no one there to protect me not even my union rep WHO NEED I REMIND THEM WE PAY UNION DUES FOR A REASON , and now here I am back on the system and I can’t fix my life the life you guys let fall to pieces better WORD CONTRIBUTED to it falling to pieces. Now here we are in a pandemic a now two year life altering crisis, we have people with out homes and what homes they had were taken from them. In a protest that was to be your people wanting to be heard and the communities coming together to protect those in need ended up in a distructive sad and disgraceful turn of events. You offered no permanent solution before taking what those with nothing only had left , NOT ONLY DID YOU TAKE WHAT LITTLE THEY HAD LEFT YOU DRAGED OTHERS INTO A SITUATION with no idea what there day would entail. I am sure had they had a choice to be apart of taking peoples only home most would of declined. Then you have the wonderful CERB a helping hand to those in need. That was told included those low income families ( disability, income assistance) and that they would be treated no different and CLAWBACK well that was nothing to worry about. WELL THOES THEY ARE CLAWING BACK FROM ARE THE LOWEST OF THE LOW THOSE WHO WERE TOLD THEY WERE NOT TO WORRY. THOSE WHO NOW WILL STRUGGLE EVEN MORE TO GET OFF THE SYSTEM, THOSE WHO WANT TO GET OFF THE SYSTEM WHO MAY NOW NEVER SEE THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL , THAT INCREASES MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL WE ALL KNOW HOW GREAT THAT IS. I remember in school singing a song called this Land is your Land this land is my land what happened to people helping people what happened to honesty what happened to doing the right thing.
It’s time for the government to be held accountable for its bad choices and it’s time to stop handing Us lip service and start doing what you say you’re going to do