Affordable housing rally in Dartmouth calls for more units in HRM
ACORN Nova Scotia organized a rally outside Mic Mac Mall on Saturday calling for affordable housing units to be included in all future housing developments, including the construction of residential units that will be built around the shopping centre.
Late last year, Halifax developer Joe Ramia, president of Rank Inc., and a group of investors submitted an application to build several new high-rise apartments on the site surrounding the mall.
It is expected to bring 2,000 new residential units in the area.
People attending the rally want the towers to include affordable units in its plan.
“Most of the people who work in this mall behind me work at a level that is within a dollar or two more than minimum wage, and they’re not going to be able to afford to live in the luxury condos [and] accommodations,” said ACORN Dartmouth Chapter co-chair Tim Allenby.
Marjorie Pemberton and Fabian Donovan are roommates that live in Dartmouth.
They attended the rally and carried signs supporting affordable housing.
They said the circumstances they are in is difficult.
Pemberton and Donovan are roommates. Without each other, they would not be able to afford a rental in Dartmouth.
“I worked my whole life. I never thought I would be where I am today,” said Pemberton.
Pemberton said their building is riddled with pests, rodents, and mold, however, what keeps them there is the rent control.
“We both rely on our pensions and that doesn’t cover enough for us to leave,” she said.
Despite this, the pair have been looking for a clean and affordable place to call home but have not found anything that meets their budget.
“We can’t even look once we see the price. It will have taken 60 per cent of our income,” she explained.
They said joining this fight for affordable housing units is all they can do.
The campaign is part of a larger push for more affordable units to be mandated as part of new construction.
“Make sure that it’s affordable and not just by the standard measures of affordable, but it’s affordable on real peoples’ real wages,” Allenby said.
The development at this mall is expected to be completed over 10 phases, which will take several years before it is done.
The group said that they believe government needs to get involved.
“A lot of people are living in tents and stuff because they can’t afford to live anywhere anymore. The cost of living has gone up tremendously,” said Lisa Hayhurst, ACORN Dartmouth Chapter co-chair.
ACORN said Saturday’s rally is only part of its ongoing fight for affordable housing. The group has planned a city-wide forum to discuss the issue on July 13.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.7011481.1724383649!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
Final day of the DNC: Kamala Harris accepts the Democratic nomination for president
On the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris accepted the party's nomination for president on Thursday.
Railways prepare to restart after federal government forces binding arbitration in labour dispute
Canada's Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon is intervening to end a work stoppage that saw this country's two largest railways grind to a standstill Thursday, by forcing the parties into binding arbitration.
Remains of missing Markham woman found in Parry Sound: police
York Regional Police say that human remains discovered in Parry Sound more than a week ago are those of a missing Markham woman. Yuk-Ying Anita Mui was first reported missing by her family on Aug. 9. Three days later on Aug. 12, OPP located burned human remains, which have since been confirmed to be those of Mui, police said.
German warship blasts Darth Vader anthem in heart of London. 'No deeper message,' navy says
Germany's navy says there was 'no deeper message' in the choice to blast the famed Imperial March, Darth Vader's theme song in the 'Star Wars' films, from one of its warships as it cruised down the River Thames through London this week.
Toronto Zoo's red panda who gave surprise birth to two cubs in June dies
A 10-year-old female red panda who recently gave birth to two cubs at the Toronto Zoo in June has died.
TikTok has fallen hard for yet another grocery store staple
How does a piece of produce go viral?
Daryl Hall ends Vancouver concert after 3 songs; management says he has COVID
Rock icon and singer-songwriter Daryl Hall walked off stage after only three songs in Vancouver on Wednesday night, his set cut short due to an unspecified illness.
CUPE Ontario president to continue to 'fight side by side' with union members amid calls to resign
CUPE Ontario president Fred Hahn says he fully rejects 'the charge of antisemitism,' and said he will 'continue to fight side by side' with his union members despite calls for his resignation by the national executive board.
Bill Morneau: Canada needs to spend more on defence faster to make inroads with next U.S. administration
As the Canadian government seeks to make inroads with the next U.S. administration, former Liberal finance minister Bill Morneau says Canada needs to take U.S. security concerns seriously and accelerate the timeline by which Canada will hit NATO's defence spending obligation.