Some people living in Halifax Grand Parade encampment now have electricity

After recent cold snow and rain gripped the region, people living in tents at Grand Parade in Halifax have electricity.

Thick cords now weave a network across Grand Parade, connecting each tent to a central power hub outside city hall.

The electricity will give people power to charge their phones and to use lights and electric heaters.

“Putting electricity to each of the individual tents — it’s a project we’ve been working on for three weeks, and we’re in the final stages of doing that,” said Stephen Wilsack, a volunteer at Grand Parade.

After few hours of troubleshooting in the afternoon, the power was on. However, so far only one side of the parade square has power that is accessible to those living in these tents. The rest of the tents will have access to power on Tuesday.

It will be a welcome relief for those facing the biting cold in tents.

“It’s really a game changer and it’s no different than if you don’t have any power in your house. So in this case, we’re providing an extension cord that allows them to have light and to have the ability to charge their phones,” said Wilsack.

A sign at Halifax's grand Parade says electric heaters are not permitted in tents.

The people living at Grand Parade will also be able to connect an electric heater to stay warm. This could resolve problems of condensation in tents, an issue many people in tents faced during previous weather events.

However, the city is prohibiting all types of heaters even though they are aware most have them.

“Some folks already have things like that. We’re working with the province to try and find another shelter, another option for folks and other things that we can do to address (the cold),” said Max Chauvin, director of housing and homelessness at Halifax Regional Municipality.

Volunteers, an electrical company and the city helped set up electricity for people living in tents at Halifax's Grand Parade.

People in the community donated power equipment to Grand Parade volunteers, and the volunteers hired a company for the installation.

The city is spending $20,000 dollars to bring power to the area and will be paying to keep the lights on.

“We host several events throughout the year, so the infrastructure is there,” said Chauvin. “I think costs are always a concern, (but) the other piece that goes along with it is the suffering of people who are left outside and at this point those who (want to go inside), there’s just no place for them to go.”

Pictured here are power cords supplying electricity to tents in Halifax's Grand Parade.

Volunteers on the ground say they were told the province would make an announcement on a shelter for people living at Grand Parade next week.

When CTV reached out, the province would not confirm this information.

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