Nova Scotia’s housing minister apologizes after saying he did not want to ‘create a ghetto’ during a discussion on affordable housing.
Minister John Lohr said in a statement that he had “made the wrong choice of words” when he spoke to a reporter on Thursday about mixed-income developments.
“It’s not a word I should have used, and I apologize for using it,” he said.
“Every Nova Scotian deserves a safe and affordable place to live. Home is our safe place, and our communities are stronger if they have diversity of race, age, culture and income.
“As we tackle the housing crisis, I know it is my job to ensure that I consider fairness, fairness and the best possible outcomes for any Nova Scotian who needs our support, and that is a role I take very seriously.”
Nova Scotia Housing Minister John Lohr apologized for his comments on Thursday.
Government of Nova Scotia
He said he promised to choose his words more carefully in the future.
Lohr, who happens to be a landlord, made the remark while being questioned by a reporter about how “affordable” housing is defined after the cabinet on Thursday.
“There is a philosophy out there that we want mixed income developments. In other words, we do not want to create a ghetto, ”Lohr said at the time.
“We are therefore not going to have every unit in a building or area affordable. We want mixed income. ”
‘It hurts’
The casual use of such a loaded word was shocking to Suzy Hansen, the NDP housing spokesman and the MLA to Halifax Needham.
She took note of the history of “ghettos” and their role in the segregation of Black and Jewish people.
“The word can be offensive. It hurts. It’s just not a word you use anymore, ”she said. “I was very, very upset when I heard that.”
Suzy Hansen is the housing spokesperson for the NDP.
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Hansen, who previously lived in Uniacke Square and currently rents out her home, said part of the issue behind the province’s housing crisis is that those in charge of fixing it often own their homes and do not know what it’s like to struggling to afford rent.
“They are so far removed from the real life of what is really happening,” she said. “It just seems like they are still missing the point.”
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Lorelei Nicoll, the liberal critic for housing and the MLA for Cole Harbor-Dartmouth, said she supported mixed-use housing and understood what Lohr was trying to say, but said his remark was a “very poor choice of words,” especially since it was made on International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
She said that kind of language stigmatizes people living in low-income housing.
“The fact that you isolate a group and identify them that way … it’s demeaning to anyone who lives where they can afford to live,” she said.
Nicoll also noted that affordability of housing is a growing problem in Nova Scotia.
“Where we are with the pandemic and the market value of homes and the affordability that is so difficult for first time buyers … I even hear from seniors wondering if they will be able to stay in their homes,” she said.
“We all need to have a reality check and we all need to look after each other.”
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