People are invited and encouraged to gather outside the Nova Scotia legislature building on Sunday, November 28 to rally in support of housing for all. The event at Province House, titled “call back the house until we all have one,” will take place from 1-2pm and is being organized by members of P.A.D.S. (Permanent, Accessible, […]
Housing crisis
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax considers taking over housing from the province
On Tuesday, Halifax Regional Council met to discuss a motion on whether the municipality should do more when it comes to housing, among other things. The four-part motion originated from a report council requested back in January 2018 by downtown Halifax councillor Waye Mason. Two city staff, Jill MacLennan from planning and development and Scott […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Weighing the costs of HRM’s crisis housing options
Late in September, Halifax announced a plausible, partial alternative to the unhoused population living outdoors this winter—a set of 73 modular housing units that cost $240,000 total and would be ready for habitation “before the snow flies.” Then came weeks of silence on the subject, followed by the admission at last Tuesday’s meeting of Halifax […]
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Revealed: the city’s plan to manage councillor reactions during the shelter siege
Early this summer, Halifax had given and missed its own deadline for removing shelters from the old Halifax Memorial Library grounds. The next steps were unclear, but tensions on all sides were rising and it was clear the city was gearing up to do something. In early July, councillor Shawn Cleary told The Coast that […]
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A look inside the 73 modular housing units rotting at a Halifax construction yard
In late September, Halifax announced its plan to purchase a total of 73 modular units that would be used for temporary housing. Coincidentally, there are exactly the same number of units, with pale grey siding, creaky unlocked doors and basic wooden furniture, currently sitting at a Halifax construction site. Mills Heavy Hauling in Goodwood is […]
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Activists build a crisis shelter as Halifax stays silent about modular housing plans
Tuesday at its regular biweekly meeting, Halifax Regional Council is supposed to receive a long-awaited update on the city’s plan to deploy modular housing units, which were announced in late September as a way to create shelter for dozens of unhoused Haligonians. The update could be related to council agenda item 15.1.7, Options for Increased […]
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Modular units, where art thou?
Way back on August 31, Halifax Regional Council held a special meeting to discuss the housing crisis. It was only a few weeks after the violent police action on August 18, and the disturbing images from that day were still at the forefront of the city’s collective consciousness. The meeting was mainly councillors feeling remorseful, […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Ready or not, winter is coming to People’s Park
As the sun sets on a Friday evening in October, People’s Park is bustling. At the Chebucto Road green space, known as Meagher Park before it became a community of unhoused locals, residents are eating goulash made by a volunteer, someone else is sorting through donated winter jackets and a man plays hacky sack while […]
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A People’s Park success story
In late August, Malcolm Kay first experienced homelessness in Halifax. He spent nearly six weeks without a permanent address. First, he was sleeping in a tent at People’s Park, then was promised—and ousted from—a room at the Comfort Inn, spent a few nights at the Gray Arena and went back to the park. Finally, as […]
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Rent control extended until the end of 2023
Until the end of 2023, rent in Nova Scotia cannot be hiked above a two percent annual increase. Premier Tim Houston announced the measure—a two-year extension of the pandemic-time rent control measure first set out in November 2020—today, following weeks of public pressure on the government amid the housing crisis. The PC leader, who has […]
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Police board seeks independent advice on independent review of shelter siege
Exactly two months after the shelter siege of August 18, Halifax’s Board of Police Commissioners met to discuss the possibility of an independent review of police actions that day. A petition calling for such a review was started by the East Coast Prison Justice Society and signed by nearly 5,000 people over the past eight […]
