Homeless man was fighting for improved income assistance before his death: lawyer

Red ice fishing enclosures are pictured at a tent encampment in downtown Halifax on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese

HALIFAX -

A homeless man who died at a Halifax encampment last month had been fighting for improved income assistance for people living in tents, his lawyer said Wednesday.

Vince Calderhead, a human rights lawyer with Halifax-based Pink Larkin, was representing Bradley Lowe in a case before the province's Assistance Appeal Board to have Lowe's monthly payment raised.

The 30-year-old was receiving $380, the standard payment for someone without a home, to pay for "essentials" such as food and other necessities. But he had argued he was eligible for $950, the standard rate for people with disabilities who live in a household.

Calderhead says people shouldn't receive less assistance because they live in a tent instead of a more traditional home. And if the hearing is successful, it could influence future decisions at the appeal board, possibly allowing other homeless people to receive significantly more money from the province than they currently get, he says.

"The argument that has been presented to the appeal board is that someone who owns their tent -- however modest and however inadequate it may be -- nonetheless owns their accommodation and assets and should be entitled to the full benefit," Calderhead said in an interview Wednesday.

Nova Scotia's income assistance regulations state that the household rate applies to a recipient who boards, rents or "owns their accommodation," he said.

Lowe had been living in an ice-fishing tent at the Victoria Park encampment in Halifax but was visiting the encampment on the Grand Parade in front of City Hall when he died Dec. 15.

Calderhead says he expects to be told soon if the appeal board will continue to hear the case, adding that Lowe's four-year-old son could receive retroactive payments if the application is successful.

The appeal hearing had received submissions, and a hearing was completed at the time of Lowe's death, he said.

Calderhead said that while the decisions aren't binding, they "should guide the department and other hearings by the appeal board." Decisions can also be appealed in court, he added.

"It would point the way, and it would provide a path forward for people in similar situations," he said.

The lawyer said his client was living with several disabilities and had addiction issues but that his homelessness was due to the housing shortage in Nova Scotia. "It was virtually impossible for him to find housing and even a room," he said.

Steve Wilsack, a volunteer who has been living at the Grand Parade for 45 days, said due to the lack of alternatives, the tent encampments are increasingly becoming people's long-term accommodations.

"This is a place of residence. When the situation happened with Bradley (Lowe), the police were here and they had to have a warrant to go into somebody's tent. This is somebody's home," he said in an interview Wednesday.

Wilsack said his experience with the residents of the encampment is that the "essentials" payment of $380 falls far short of what they need for food and other basics. "It's not enough for basic necessities. It should be three to four times that," he said in an interview Wednesday.

In his submissions, Calderhead presented evidence indicating at least $475 is required just for food, not counting medication and other basic items.

The province's medical examiner service declined an interview regarding how Lowe's death occurred, citing privacy. Police say they responded to a call of a man in medical distress and that the death was not considered suspicious.

Christina Deveau, a spokeswoman for the Department of Community Services, said existing income assistance rules allow people to receive $380 a month if they live in temporary accommodations, "such as hospital, residential rehabilitation, emergency shelter, transition house, hotel or without a fixed address (such as a tent)."

"When the recipient or client secures new accommodations, a review of supports is completed, and additional funding can be provided to help with accommodations," she added.

Deveau noted that the income assistance regulations define a home as "the primary residence of the applicant or recipient and includes a mobile home," but a mobile home "does not include a travel trailer or tent trailer."

She noted that income assistance "is reviewing how alternative accommodations, such as trailers and RVs, are treated."

"In the interim, the needs of clients living in these types of accommodations are being assessed on a case-by-case basis," Deveau wrote.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 3, 2024.

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