A Halifax street outreach worker is expecting a rough winter for those without a home.
Eric Jonsson is the coordinator of the Navigator Street Outreach program in Halifax.
Normally, Jonsson supplies a couple of tents per day to people who have no other shelter options.
Now with winter coming, he says he’s looking for at least 100 to get through the season. However, he estimates that number is much lower than what is actually needed, and expects he may need more than double over the coming months.
"They’re getting turned away from shelters because shelters are full. They’re getting evicted from their apartments because the landlords want to raise the rent and there’s just no place for them to go, so the tent is their only option," said Jonsson.
That’s why the province created legislation that allows it to take control of granting construction projects in the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM).
"I have a provincial mandate to do what I can in every way to increase the housing supply and increase the affordability," said Nova Scotia Housing Minister John Lohr.
Councillor Waye Mason says the province is overstepping its bounds and what its doing is actually slowing down housing developments.
"What the province is proposing right now is the province to move further into the job that HRM has and to date, their interventions haven’t produced any housing or change the housing crisis at all," said Mason.
The HRM has permits ready to go to build 9,900 units. Mason says that is enough to eliminate the shortage of housing units by the end of 2029.
