'Humans will become homeless': Cape Breton mayor speaks out about housing crisis

The mayor of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality says her community is on the verge of a housing crisis. Now she’s speaking out about a major affordable housing project delayed by red tape.

The population of the CBRM may soon hit 100,000 for the first time in 40 years, causing a housing crunch for many residents.

It’s serious enough that elected officials are being inundated by voicemails and emails asking for help finding a place to call their own.

“You’re going to see, on a daily basis, requests for assistance from residents saying, ‘I need to get into housing. The lists are too long. We’re at risk of becoming homeless',” said CBRM Mayor Amanda MacDougall.

MacDougall noted the lack of vacancies and affordable housing has affected everyone from international students and single parents to those experiencing homelessness.

Six months ago, there was a proposal to build more than 400 new units at the former Tartan Downs race track.

MacDougall says it has been delayed because the development doesn’t qualify under the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) national housing strategy.

“You’re pretty much kicked out of the application process near the beginning because we’re talking about urban [and] rural mixes,” she explained. “That doesn’t fit with CMHC funding.”

Kent MacIntyre, the project manager with Cape Breton University, says if things don’t change, the proposal could be in jeopardy.

“I’m quite disappointed,” he said, calling the proposal a “game-changer” for the region. “We need housing and we need it now. We’ve stressed that to CMHC. I know they understand that, but we’ve still got to get them to a point where the non-repayable portion is significantly more than what they’ve prepared to offer during the application process.”

CTV Atlantic reached out to the CMHC for comment but did not receive one by deadline.

“Humans will become homeless if we don’t find ways to shift our programming to create more housing opportunities,” said MacDougall.

Now, the mayor wants the CMHC to come back to the table with project partners to find a solution.