Halifax mayor responds to homelessness update

HALIFAX – Mayor Mike Savage responded to questions about the latest homelessness report on April 25 but wouldn’t discuss new possible sites for designated encampments.

After his annual state of the municipality speech on April 25, Savage was asked about the latest update on homelessness in HRM where Max Chauvin, HRM’S director of housing and homelessness, wrote that the municipality will have to consider setting up new designated sites due to overcrowding.

This after five encampments were closed down — the people living there were evicted — in February.

Savage said he wouldn’t comment on new designated sites until Chauvin’s report is discussed at council at their next meeting in May.

"Our goal has been to close sites but to make sure that people have a better place to go and that still is my focus,” he said.

“If it gets to the point that we have no choice but to allow people (to live outside) then we’ll consider this but I think there’s work to be done to make sure there are better options.”

HRM recently closed a request for expressions of interest for locations for a new shelter. HRM and the province have set a deadline to announce a decision on this before June 30.

Savage said he hopes to work with the provincial government to find more long-term solutions like the tiny homes village planned in Sackville.

“Getting (people) into meaningful shelter is my hope but in the meantime, we have to be realistic and the city will do its part.”

The shelter on the Halifax Forum property, which has been criticized in that it feels like jail, is slated to end in August.

Savage said it has been useful and they’ve added more beds since it opened in January “but it’s not a solution and doesn’t provide people with what they need to really get through the day, what it does is get them through the night and we need to do both of those things.”

The province is installing Pallet shelters but they’ve been delayed and other housing options announced in the past year are months and years away.

“Of course it’s frustrating but everything is slow these days — private sector, public sector, getting your deck done, everything is slow,” Savage said, pointing to lack of labour, price increases, and other reasons.

But the province and municipality are working hard every day on this, he added.

“There are good intentions, we just need to turn those good intentions into good solutions and people are working on it.”