When the province of Nova Scotia declared a local state of emergency at the site of a toppled crane in Halifax, it meant the government assumed liability and was watching the cleanup closely.
"The decision to declare that area was based solely on the protection of people and property," said Nova Scotia Finance and Treasury Board Minister Karen Casey.
However, it doesn't appear that the complicated and dangerous task will be sped up in any way.
It's tough news for Rebecca Carole, who lives in a building near the crane, which collapsed onto a building under construction at the height of post-tropical storm Dorian on Sept. 7.
Carole has lived there for two years and got 20 minutes notice to move out, so she grabbed some clothes and her cat.
She's living in an Airbnb -- her 5th temporary home in 10 days.
She says the province getting involved sounds like a positive step, but being forced out of her home is causing major financial and emotional stress.
"Morale is low," Carole said. "You wake up in the morning and you're like, 'Oh, right, here I am at Airbnb, we're still not home yet.'"
The mandatory evacuation order is affecting dozens of residents who live in the area, along with a number of businesses.
Thumpers Hair Salon has also been locked out of their South Park Street location for nearly two weeks.
"Since then, we've had to start from scratch to build a salon," said Ashley Heighton.
They found a new temporary space in another part of the city and received a care package from a north-end salon to help stay open.
"Clients and customers have been great," Heighton said. "We've had customers bring us everything they can that they have that they think will help us out."
Heighton says they're making the best of a bad situation, but are also anxious to return to their downtown location and resume business as usual.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Paul Hollingsworth.
