NSNDP calls for immediate action to ensure everyone has shelter

HALIFAX – The NSNDP is calling on the Houston government to ensure everyone has somewhere warm to sleep as temperatures this week reach record lows.

“People are sleeping outside and the temperatures are dangerously low,” said NDP Housing spokesperson Suzy Hansen. “The housing situation for too many of our neighbours is an emergency. If a natural disaster like a hurricane left people homeless we would make sure they had a roof over their heads. Winter conditions in Nova Scotia are no different. No one should be sleeping outside right now.”

The issue of housing and homelessness reached a breaking point last year with hundreds of people living in tents and emergency shelters, as house prices and rents skyrocketed. The Nova Scotia Affordable Housing Commission released a progress report yesterday showing work on many short and mid-term goals has still not begun.

“When the Commission delivered their report we already knew the housing situation was in crisis, and things have not gotten better,” said NDP Leader Gary Burrill. “The need for rent control was so clear that even Mr. Houston, who has said he does not support it, was forced to extend the temporary cap for two years. More needs to be done and rent control needs to be permanent.”

The NDP’s proposed rent control legislation would keep rent increases at a predictable level tied with the consumer price index and allow for increases above the cap through an approval process that landlords can apply for when needed.

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