NS NDP Brand AGM with Housing Panel, Hearing About Rural Housing Challenges – Halifax | The Canadian News

Gary Burrill and the Nova Scotia NDP have been focused on housing for a long time.

Burrill made rent control a key electoral issue and spoke out during temporary shelter evictions that turned violent in August.

On Saturday, the party dedicated part of its annual general meeting (AGM) to the issue, which has been described as a crisis in Nova Scotia, particularly within the Halifax Regional Municipality.

A panel of advocates included Amanda Mombourquette, co-chair of the Strait-Richmond Housing Affairs Coalition; Colleen Cameron, president of the Antigonish Affordable Housing Society; Victoria Levack, member of the Permanent, Accessible, Dignified and Safe Community Network (PADS); Kate Macdonald, co-founder of GameChangers902 and branch manager of the Halifax North Memorial Public Library; and Hannah Wood, president of the ACORN chapter in the Halifax Peninsula.

The housing crisis isn’t just in urban areas, says Antigonish advocate Colleen Cameron.

“We are in the process of preparing to open 12 new units,” he says. “We have had 70 requests for those 12 units and I receive calls weekly. People are desperate. “

Cameron says that housing is “one of the most important determinants of health.”

Mombourquette says that access to services is also more challenging in rural areas, where travel is often required.

“The housing challenges look very different here,” says the Richmond County Director. “It’s often hidden homelessness and manifests itself in things like couch surfing, especially among young people and people experiencing addictions and mental health.”

Advocates like Macdonald know that solutions for addiction and mental health are also needed, and there need to be new voices at the table.

“Yes, it is about housing, but also about everything else,” says Macdonald. “It’s about all the oppression in other systems as well because it’s interconnected. And this is a crisis. This is a real crisis. That means now. Every minute is crucial.

“So how would you like to be treated if you lost your home? What did you expect? And what fight would you feel you deserve? “

Earlier this month, the Halifax Regional Municipality approved $ 3.2 million for modular units.

Twenty-four people would be staying at a site on Alderney Drive in Dartmouth.

A location in Halifax has not yet been chosen.

Meanwhile, the progressive conservative government recently detailed some strategies to handle the housing crisis as well.

A provincial affordable housing announcement is scheduled for Monday in Lantz, NS