The location of a new pallet shelter site in Halifax has sparked discussion among community members and mayoral candidates on housing and how to best deal with a housing crisis.
The province recently confirmed the pallet shelter site will be in the Clayton Park neighbourhood — near the Canada Games Centre, a public library and schools.
Suzanne Ley, the executive director of Employment Support and Income Assistance with the Department of Community Services, told Global News the province worked closely with the municipality to find new sites. More than 50 locations were considered, she added.
“With a shelter village in particular, it’s a piece of land that is clear and ready to go from an engineering perspective because we want to move quickly,” she said.
“It needs to be able to be hooked up to water and sewer and power.”
Three well-known candidates running for mayor have made housing a top issue for their platforms.
Former MP Andy Fillmore said he wants to stop the expansion of tent encampments, and use his city planning background to address housing supply.
Get daily National news
“People living in a tent in a park is not a solution to the problem of homelessness,” Fillmore said.
“(We need) to increase the speed of approvals for all kinds of housing, and remove roadblocks, to make lower-cost land available for development because the cost of land is a direct driver of rent and mortgage costs, and to allow more innovative techniques of construction.”
Meanwhile, current councillor Waye Mason said eliminating tent encampments is not a viable solution.
“If we shut down all of the encampments and banned tenting today, people would still be in tents because they have nowhere to go,” said Mason.
He said the municipality has to work with the province to increase the supply of shelters and temporary housing, which could include pallet shelters.
“The path ends in having an apartment, and a permanent place to live. All that stuff takes time. Unfortunately, in the short term we’re going to have encampments,” Mason added.
Fellow councillor Pam Lovelace pointed out that the construction industry plays a role in solving the housing issue too.
“What we need to do is work better with the province to address (the issue) in a collaborative, collective, and intentional manner,” she said.
“And to be able to support people who are working in the construction industry to do that. At HRM, we need to be able to get the bureaucracy out of the way and streamline the process and make it faster.”
In total, 16 people are vying for the municipality’s top job. Election day is Oct. 19.
— with a file from Global News’ Rebecca Lau
