Provincial leaders responses to Affordable Housing letter

Hello all, came back briefly from my break from work to share these answers I received to my letter to the leaders after the first leader’s debate.

The Liberal, PC Party, and New Democratic Party letters are here for you to read, but the breakdown is the Liberal and PC answers say “we will follow the Affordable Housing Commission report.”

The Liberal and PC responses are hugely disappointing and do not answer the current crisis.

The report is great, don’t get me wrong, but it does not answer the immediate, short-term fact that Nova Scotians are living in the streets due to a lack of alternatives.

The report does a lot of good stuff, has a good plan to address the long-term housing supply problems and make some needed structural change, but it does not (edit) address the immediate crisis that is facing Halifax residents.

Only the NDP answered the questions with thoughtful and generally appropriate answers.  I appreciate them taking the time to actually answer.

Clearly residents and HRM have a lot of education to do to get many of our Provincial leaders to understand the crisis we face at this very moment. Lots of work to do after the election!

Above all else – please vote, information about the election here.

A summary of the questions and answers is below.

1. Will your party increase funding to shelters and service providers for better wages, more admin staff, and to provide for well-run programs in all shelters and homes.

LIB – No
NDP – Yes
PC – No

2. Will your party take immediate steps to ensure a rapid increase in supply of transition housing, that keeps pace with current and future demand, regardless of how many people require it, so that no Nova Scotian has to face sleeping outside because there is no place for them?

LIB – Sort of, mentions existing investments, which do not directly commit to addressing transition housing.
NDP – Yes
PC – No

3. Will your party ensure that needed funding for wrap-around services and supportive housing is immediately made available sufficient to address the needs of our most vulnerable residents?

LIB – No – Has increased Community Services staff, could be deployed this way, but no clear commitment.
NDP – Yes
PC – No

4. Will your party change the RHI approach to enable many more builds, more quickly, by providing no-interest loans and earned back funding to service agencies?

LIB – No
NDP – Yes maybe if the Feds allow
PC – No

5. Will your party work with service providers to create the needed no eviction programs for those who are the most challenging to find housing for?

LIB – No
NDP – Yes 
PC – No