Advocates Call on Nova Scotia Government to Declare Housing Emergency As Winter Weighs in – Halifax | The Canadian News

Dozens of housing advocates gathered outside the Province House in downtown Halifax on Sunday, demanding that the provincial government take faster action to address emergency shelter needs.

“We are trying to winterize the park, but there is not much we can do. We didn’t realize that we would be here that long. We thought the government would eventually do something as soon as we took control of the park to get us there, and that has not been the case, “said Victoria Levack, spokesperson for the Permanent, Accessible, Dignified and Safer Community Network (PADS). .

Advocates say the growing number of homeless people still sleeping in parks as winter progresses means Nova Scotia’s elected officials have an emergency on their hands that warrants an emergency session of the legislature.

PADS is a community network that has been consistently advocating for safer and more accessible housing, along with a moratorium on park evictions.

On August 18, hundreds of people flocked to downtown Halifax to protest against police-led evictions of homeless people living in parks.

In the days that followed, the volunteer-led network was launched to help the displaced and homeless.

More than 100 days later, they are still working with the wider community to support those who have nowhere else to go but a tent.

1:42Advocates spoke about affordable housing at the NS NDP meeting

“If there are camps that are formed because people have no other choice, then what is supposed to happen is that those places are supposed to be supported, not evicted. That’s what the right to housing means, ”said Asaf Rashid, a Halifax human rights lawyer.

Public outrage prompted the Halifax Regional Council to fund emergency housing measures, such as temporary hotel stays. The larger picture of the modular home sites in Halifax and Dartmouth was also discussed, but the plans were delayed after the city declared that the original purchase plan failed because the units were not suitable.

“They could have bought the right ones in the first place, or converted old buildings that are not being used into emergency shelters,” Levack said.

An update of the city’s modular housing plans is expected and the provincial government will support the sites with social support services. The province has also voted in favor of other housing measures, such as extending the temporary rental limit.

But supporters say those hardest hit by the lack of affordable and accessible housing continue to suffer as they await emergency housing options.