Council passes short-term relief for homeless
HALIFAX — Halifax Regional Municipality council allotted $500,000 Tuesday for an emergency plan to address temporary housing for the homeless in the city.
Mayor Mike Savage asked that procedural rules surrounding the involvement of the finance standing committee and a staff report be waived to “direct the CAO to implement a range of emergency supportive housing and emergency shelter accommodations for those who are unhoused in collaboration with and based on feedback from community social service providers and the Province of Nova Scotia to address immediate and emergent needs.”
The emergency measures would include “the fit-up of spaces for temporary accommodation, renting of hotel (rooms) and other spaces,” the mayor said in his emergency motion before the 16-member council. Savage asked council to authorize chief administrative officer Jacques Dube “to spend up to $500,000 from fiscal services in respect to addressing these needs and report (regularly) on the use of said funds.”
The final part of Savage's motion directed Dube “to work with the (provincial) Department of Community Services and community service providers on a needs analysis to determine how many people are unhoused, how many of them are currently tenting or occupying other forms of shelter in the parks and other public lands,” and how many can be accommodated in a safer manner.
Council voted unanimously to waive the procedural rules and followed with a unanimous vote to pass the mayor's emergency motion.
The motion comes in the wake of a Halifax Regional Police response two weeks ago to remove temporary shelters from three HRM properties. The police action turned violent when protesters opposed the removals of temporary shelters at the old public library property on Spring Garden Road.
The result was 24 arrests and charges of obstruction, assaulting police and resisting arrest. All those arrested were released the same day but the optics of video showing police combatting protesters who supported unhoused people left a black mark on the municipality.
After introducing the motion, Savage, who was out of town with family during the online council meeting, told elected municipal councillors that he had written a few weeks ago to each of the parties in the provincial election about several issues, the first of which was affordable housing.
“The need for affordable housing continues to grow,” Savage said of his message to the provincial political parties. “As the largest urban centre in Nova Scotia, we face a uniquely urgent need that requires responsive policy options, tools and legislative amendments to address the affordable housing crisis.”
Savage said while the province holds jurisdictional responsibility for housing and social services, “we feel responsible and accountable for the health and well-being of residents.
“That is a fact.”
Savage said discussions with the province have begun but needs to be accelerated. The PC cabinet of Premier Tim Houston was sworn in Tuesday afternoon, including Karla MacFarlane, the new community services minister.
“There are options for people who continue to be unhoused and absolutely the provincial government needs to be the leading player in this,” Savage said. “This is in their mandate … this is what they are supposed to fund.”
Savage said the municipality has shown before and needs to show now that it can be a player in the housing solution.
“We do have some money available to us,” Savage said, alluding to the federal government's rapid housing initiative, the federal restart fund from late last year and a doubling of gas tax money from the federal government to municipalities.