Halifax councillor says there are opportunities for construction industry to engage with city hall

Some construction firms say shifting rules make it hard to build in Halifax.

In response to concerns raised by the Construction Association of Nova Scotia (CANS) about doing business in Halifax, a city councillor says there are opportunities for consultation through formal, public processes.

“It just seems like in the last year, there’s a pattern of not wishing to engage and have a meaningful conversation about what the scope and nature of the problem is before going to a motion before going to a staff report,” says Duncan Williams, the CEO and president of CANS.

In an open letter, CANS was critical of a motion at a council meeting last Tuesday that requested a staff report on a policy of maintaining active transportation routes during building construction.

The motion carried 14-to-one, with Mayor Andy Fillmore being the sole dissenting voice.

“The motion advanced without prior engagement with the construction sector, even though these issues have been raised by industry for years,” the letter reads. “Many of the concerns cited are not new.”

Council was told industry would be consulted as part of the staff report.

Speaking to CTV News on Monday, Williams said industry supports the premise of it – but wanted to be part of the discussion before it got to requesting a staff report.

“In fact, we’ve proactively been lobbying for it,” he says in an interview. “But there are some practicalities, and providing the industry with an opportunity to sit down and fully understand the scope of the problem, or is it project specific?”

Coun. Janet Steele, the chair of the municipality’s Community Planning and Economic Development Standing Committee, says there are always formal, public avenues for people or associations to speak to councillors.

“Whether it’s presenting to a committee,” she says, “Whether it’s coming and participating in public participation.”

Williams says there used to be regular meetings between city council and industry – but those were halted during the COVID-19 lockdowns.

“We resolved a lot of these issues at that table,” he says.

“We met pretty much on a quarterly basis. It was an opportunity for council and staff to bring forward concerns they had,” says Williams. “It was also an opportunity for industry to bring forward solutions and work in a collaborative way.

“That worked for several years.”

Williams says the association left a development liaison group because they felt like they were not being heard.

The concerns are mounting to the point where some companies are opting out of doing work in Halifax.

“I’m hearing from developers that they’re just not interested,” he says. “It’s becoming too difficult, too challenging, too unpredictable – mainly, is the language I’m hearing – to do business in Halifax,” Williams says. “That’s really unfortunate.”

Steele agrees it’s unfortunate to hear that, saying it’s important to maintain a positive city for investment.

“I think that’s unfortunate, because we are a growing and prosperous city,” she says. “I think we’re continuing to see investments in HRM and it continues to be a city that’s a positive place to do business.”

“We want to continue the investment, and we want to ensure that we have the housing that we need.”

With files from CTV’s Sean Mott

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page