Recent media reports say more than 8,000 people in Nova Scotia are waiting for public housing. Four years ago, after the province merged its housing authorities, the wait-list was 6,500. The list keeps getting longer, showing just how serious the shortage has become. We need to look at what the province is doing about this, and whether those steps are actually helping people who need a place to live. The province says in the media that average wait times have dropped from 27 months in 2022 to 19 months now. But that is still much too long to wait for a safe, affordable home. At the same time, the housing agency is cutting 32 jobs and adding 25 new ones, so there will be seven fewer staff overall. The NSGEU, the union for some of these workers, says 11 unionized jobs are affected. The agency says this is part of restructuring after merging five housing authorities, and says it is not about the province’s goal to cut labour costs by three per cent each year. Housing workers handle everything from processing applications to helping tenants, managing repairs, and moving people into homes. Cutting staff in a system that is already struggling usually means even longer waits for the people who need help most.
Nova Scotia has a five-year plan called Action for Housing. The government says this plan has helped build tens of thousands of new homes and promises about 515 new public housing units. Public housing is still one of the best ways to make homes affordable for people who need them. But 515 new units hardly make a difference when more than 8,000 people are waiting. Some supporters of the plan might say that any new units are progress, and that building now could lead to more later. But that does not match the scale of the housing crisis today, or the risk that small steps will not keep up with the growing need.
The plan also does not address the main problems, like years of underfunding, slow construction, and not enough support for services. Some options could help: giving more support to co-ops and non-profit housing would add more homes and let communities have a bigger say. Direct help for low-income renters, or rules that require private developers to include affordable units, could also help people find homes more quickly. If we use these ideas along with building public housing, we can solve both the short-term and long-term problems. The plan is important, but it does not go far enough to meet what people in our communities really need.
Nova Scotia needs to keep building public housing and give more support to co-ops and non-profit housing groups. Just as important, the province needs enough trained staff to keep the whole system running for the people who count on it. The government cannot claim that housing is a top priority while cutting the public service that is supposed to provide it.
People waiting for a home deserve more than just promises and targets.
They deserve a real home they can move into.
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These are my opinions written to get you thinking about what actually matters in this province. Fairness. Accountability. Who gets helped and who gets left out. Agree with me or don’t. But let’s have a respectful conversation.