Crisis shelters in Halifax 'will be removed' says municipality
A volunteer group that built so-called "crisis shelters" in Halifax to help those in the city who are homeless is upset the municipality plans to take them down.
Halifax Mutual Aid built 13 of the small wooden framed structures throughout the city earlier this year. There are several in front of Halifax's old library on Spring Garden Road, and others scattered on both sides of the bridges.
The group says all of them are now fully occupied and says there are also 21 people on its waiting list.
"It was really important to us that people had somewhere safe with a roof over their head with a lock on their door," says group spokesperson Campbell McClintock.
When the first ones were erected in January, the city said Halifax Mutual Aid didn't have permission to build them on municipal land.
But at the time, it also said occupants would not be evicted unless they had somewhere else to go.
Now, McClintock says the city has been informing occupants they will soon be provided another place to stay.
"And what the city is offering is a hotel room for no longer than two weeks," says McClintock, "maybe longer, although there's no guarantee it will be longer."
"And there's no promise," he adds, "of housing after the hotel room."
McClintock believes once the crisis shelters are all empty, the city will take them down. He says city officials have never directly communicated with the group about the municipality's plans.
In an email statement provided late Wednesday to CTV News in lieu of a requested interview, the municipality confirmed McClintock's suspicions.
"These shelters cannot remain on-site indefinitely and will be removed" writes city public affairs advisor Maggie-Jane Spray. "A deadline has not yet been finalized."
"Placing anything in a park for the purpose of temporary or permanent accommodation is not permitted under By-Law P-600."
The city says staff have been working with the province and Street Outreach Navigators to find adequate housing for the people living in the temporary shelters.
According to the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia, the city has not made measurable progress on homelessness, with about 400 people in the city still without homes. Half of those people have been homeless for six months or longer.
The association's executive director describes the current situation as "treading water" – in which the number of people who are homeless hasn't changed dramatically one way or the other.
Jim Graham says if the city is planning to move the occupants of the temporary shelters, it needs a long-term solution.
"It's easy to say let's, it's better in a hotel, it's safer, it's warmer," says Graham, "but if you think about how you exit that strategy, it's hard."
Graham says shelters are full, there's a lack of affordable housing, and recent Rapid Housing building projects have barely broken ground, if at all.
McClintock says many occupants using the shelters feel more at home there than they would in other accommodations, such as shelters.
"They're the best possible solution for a number of people who are going to be sleeping in tents or bank lobbies," he says.
Halifax Mutual Aid intends to hold a COVID safe rally at 2 p.m. Sunday at the old Halifax Memorial Library to highlight its concerns.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Police arrest 3 Indian nationals in killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Human remains found in rural Sask. possibly a decade old, RCMP say
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Drew Carey is never quitting 'The Price Is Right'
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.