City of Halifax not moving tents as homeless encampments continue to overflow

The city of Halifax says they are not removing tents in public areas as designated encampment sites continue to overflow with people.

There are now six tents on the Halifax Commons, but it's the debris from a previous tent site that includes discarded needles that is more of a concern to some in the neighbourhood.

“There is a lot of children and dogs,” says resident Mahmoud Abdalla.

There are also tents on the lawn of the old public library on Spring Garden Road.

The city says they have no plans to move the tents or any others that are put up in a site that is not approved by the city

“If you are staying in a non-designated location, we will not move you until we have a place where you go,” says Mac Chauvin, HRM’s director of housing and homelessness.

A tent on the lawn of the old public library in Halifax. (Jonathan MacInnis/CTV Atlantic)

Chauvin says this is because there's no more room at the city's designated encampment sites.

“They’re overflowing with people or stretching beyond where we envision and so that’s a priority where we need more options for people,” Chauvin says.

“Do we need to designate more places? Do we need to say here’s another space that you can go and will provide some support like porta-potties and water delivery and things like that.”

There are currently 125 people living on the streets of Halifax. Things will get even more crowded if the city's projections of 300 incoming tenters is accurate. Shelters, like the encampment sites are also full.

Robin Tupy has been homeless for almost a year, she says shelters aren't the answer.

“The government would rather shell out the money to these shelter systems as a temporary Band-Aid, as opposed to putting the money towards housing that can actually be affordable,” Tupy says. “It’ll probably get a lot worse before it gets better.”

That’s a dire prediction from Jay Campbell. He's been staying in the green space along University Avenue. Campbell hopes to be moving into one of the Pallet homes soon.

“I’m on the list. It’s just waiting for these shelters to be built and the communities to be set up,” says Campbell.

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