Halifax neighbourhood caught off guard by new Pallet village construction

Construction has begun on a new Pallet shelter in Halifax, leaving area residents and local leaders surprised and upset after discovering the project without any prior notice.

Fences were erected and heavy machinery was moved in before most people in the Clayton Park area were aware the new housing development was underway.

“I was told it could be an EV charger location or tiny home shelter so I went to the minister and asked and he said, ‘No, it’s a tiny home and they’re working on it.’ I literally went to him everyday to ask,” said the area’s Liberal MLA Rafah DiCostanzo, who only learned about the project when the fences went up.

DiCostanzo said she asked to be kept in the loop because she began receiving emails from people living in the area who voiced their concerns.

“There was no consultation. My councillors didn’t know, I did not know, and none of the community members were aware. I am quite disappointed with the communication.”

The pallet village is being built across from the Canada Games Centre, a public library, and schools.

Construction is underway on a Pallet village near Canada Games Centre in Halifax on Sept. 16, 2024. (CTV Atlantic/Hafsa Arif)

DiCostanzo said had there been communication between herself and the province, she would have made a suggestion for another location, which is near public transit and other businesses.

“Everything surrounding that area is children. So to me, it’s totally the wrong place to put it. There’s provincially-owned land in Bayers Lake that I would have recommended to the province.”

The province insists it has been communicating with the municipality and has reviewed 49 other possible sites, but formal consultations were not a part of the plan yet.

“We were waiting to make the announcement until we had all of the information that people were looking for. We have been working with the municipality for a number of weeks [and] we’ve mentioned in the past, we’ve been looking for the final locations for the remainder of our pallet unit and we’re close to sharing information about that,” said Suzanne Ley, executive director of employment supports and income assistance with Nova Scotia’s Department of Community Services.

While Ley said she understands the concerns of the community, the location for the pallet shelter was the most ideal.

“There’s a lot that goes into choosing a site. The land needs to be available and ready, there’s engineering pieces around being able to connect to services and water. These are solutions for people from and in and connected to our communities. So, we need to make sure they’re close to resources and able to connect to things like transit, public libraries and other community resources.”

Fences could be seen on Sept. 16, 2024 near Canada Games Centre in Halifax for construction of a Pallet village. (CTV Atlantic/Hafsa Arif)

Bonnie Houston, a resident in Clayton Park who frequently goes to the gym at the Canada Games Centre, said she was surprised to learn the province was building a pallet village.

“There was no transparency, no one in the area had heard of it. My reaction I was disappointed. I feel for these people, I think they need homes but I think this location is not very smart. We have schools and teenagers and kids at the Canada Games Centre,” said Houston.

The province assures the community that safety is a priority.

“There would always be some type of security in place,” said Ley. “It’s 90 days we’ll have security personnel. After a certain period of time, it may be integrated in with staffing of the service provider. It really depends on what’s needed.”

Howver, Houston does not think that will be enough.

“Good luck. They tried enforcing and having security in other places and it hasn’t worked so we’ll have to see what happens.”

The province has not provided any other details including the number of pallet shelters being built, as planning is still in the early stages. Currently it is still in the process of choosing a service provider to operate the shelter.

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page.