The politics of housing: How N.S. and Halifax governments are ‘obviously not in sync’

The housing crisis in Halifax is looking bleaker than ever: the number of unhoused people has climbed to more than 1,000, the tent encampment outside city hall continues to grow, and winter is now just weeks away.

Meanwhile, the provincial and municipal governments can’t seem to agree on the best course of action.

“They could be doing more by collaborating effectively, but they’re not,” said Jeffrey MacLeod, a political science professor at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax.

“They’re obviously not in sync now.”

MacLeod said the word “crisis” can often be overused, but it’s well-suited when it comes to the current housing situation.

“This is an exponentially-getting-worse problem,” he said.

One of the biggest issues, he said, is a “political disconnect” between the province and the city. He noted that Nova Scotia is fairly unique in that governments can be formed without much urban support — and the current provincial government is a “perfect example” of that.

Most of the legislature seats in Halifax Regional Municipality belong to the Liberals and the NDP, while the governing Progressive Conservatives hold most of the seats outside of the capital city.

For a government almost “entirely disengaged from HRM issues,” it was therefore surprising to see them swoop in last week to give themselves more control over urban development, MacLeod said.

“It’s a complex big city, and this is not a (provincial) government that’s seemingly been interested in that since its election,” he said.

On Thursday, the province announced legislation to insert itself into the process of approving residential developments in Halifax, saying it needs to create a fast-track system to deal with housing shortages.

The bill would require the city to work with the province to allow pre-qualified developers to receive expedited approvals for residential units and would impose a two-year freeze on the fees the city levies on builders.

Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister John Lohr said the “express lane” for developers is needed because there are still unacceptable delays in getting projects off the ground in the Halifax area.

He told reporters last week that the proposed legislation will “remove barriers, increase density and ensure that housing remains a priority focus in our most urban centre.”

But Halifax Mayor Mike Savage called the bill a “direct intrusion into municipal affairs” which doesn’t address the real culprits for the housing shortage: high interest rates and labour shortages.

He told reporters last week that the city already has permits to build 11,000 housing units and there is development-ready land available for 200,000 units.

“You can say a lot of things about housing in Nova Scotia,” Savage said. “But you can’t say that the staff at HRM have been the problem.”

Savage also indicated that while he did receive a call from Lohr the night before the legislation was announced, the city was not consulted beforehand.

On his part, Lohr said the legislation was informed by a 2022 report conducted by Deloitte, Inc., and “parts of the bill” have been in discussion with HRM over the last year-and-a-half to two years.

‘Odd way to do business’

While MacLeod said the province does have “entire authority” over municipal governments and can make changes like this, he did call the proposed legislation a “dramatic reach into traditionally municipal authority.”

The political science professor said this sends the message that the province doesn’t have confidence in Halifax Regional Municipality — and the fact that the municipality didn’t get much of a heads-up before this was announced is an “odd way to do business.”

MacLeod said this could end up being “counterproductive” because the two levels of government still need to work together.

“If you get friction and animosity between the two different administrative structures, that can’t be helpful,” he said. “That’s not going to solve the problem. That’s just going to exacerbate it.”

In addition, this kind of public disagreement between the two entities just “looks terrible” to the public.

“It’s uncooperative, it’s dismissive of that relationship — that rapport between HRM council and the provincial cabinet,” MacLeod said.

Lisa Blackburn, the councillor for Middle/Upper Sackville-Beaver Bank-Lucasville, described the recent move as “completely an overreach.”

“I’m without words and in shock at the level to which the province has chosen to escalate this,” she said.

Blackburn — along with her fellow councillors — has long been critical of the province’s response to homelessness.

During a tense and emotional meeting last month which saw council vote on whether to turn parts of the Halifax Common into homeless encampments, Blackburn warned of a looming “humanitarian crisis” this winter when rents are slated to rise.

She said council is unable to do much without the province’s help, and said she is eager to work with them — “but I think we are at the stage now where, my God, we’ve got to embarrass them into doing something.

“I say put up tents, all the tents, on the Common and then declare a disaster so maybe then we can get some federal assistance,” she said at the time.

“Maybe we can get some provincial assistance. Maybe having the Red Cross come in to help with this will embarrass the province into doing their bloody job.”

The premier later said municipalities should stop “pointing fingers” and instead “roll up your sleeves” and get to work on the issue.

In an interview Friday, Blackburn said it’s unclear to her why exactly the province felt the need to step into municipal territory.

“What is it the city’s not doing that the province feels we need to be doing to help with this crisis?” she said. “Because that seems to be the missing piece for me.”

Premier Tim Houston dodged that question from a Global News reporter last week, saying simply that his government is focused on housing.

“If the municipality wants to partner with us, they’ve got a great willing partner with us,” he said.

But Blackburn said the move shows a lack of respect toward the municipality, which has its own processes and programs it’s working with.

She said the announcement was especially disappointing because it came after some positive news on the housing front.

The previous day, the province announced it would collaborate with the municipality to build tiny homes for people experiencing homelessness in the Halifax area, signalling hope that the two entities were working together.

That hope quickly evaporated for Blackburn after the province made its surprise announcement.

“They dangled us first with the carrot and then smacked us in the face with the stick,” she said.

She added that the municipality recently worked with the federal government to get funding through the Housing Accelerator Fund to build nearly 9,000 homes. It was like “night and day” compared to working with the province, said Blackburn.

“It was collaborative, it was respectful, and we got it done,” she said.

She said she doesn’t know why working with the province can be such a challenge.

“I would hate to think that the province is playing party politics at the expense of vulnerable people who just need a damn place to live.”

In response to a reporter asking last week if the recent move was a “power grab,” Housing Minister Lohr said he doesn’t “see it that way.”

“I see it as the recognition that we are in a world that’s just changing so quickly, that we need to be able to react quickly,” he said.

Bill ‘performative’: mayor

On Monday, municipal officials tried and failed to get the province to pause the legislation during the legislature’s law amendment committee.

Mayor Savage further criticized the bill, calling it “unnecessary and harmful” and an “egregious overreach.”

“This bill is performative and addresses a problem that doesn’t exist,” he said.

Despite objections from the mayor and seven Halifax Regional Council members, the Progressive Conservative majority on the committee voted to return the bill to the legislature without amendments.

MacLeod, the political science professor, said he doesn’t blame councillors and the mayor for being frustrated with the legislation — especially with the lack of consultation.

“You can consult them and not agree, that’s one thing, but when … it’s just unilaterally imposed on you, that’s another order of offensive,” he said.

“It’s very paternalistic and not really a fair ball, from a political perspective. It really is the province putting its thumb on the scale and saying, ‘OK, we’re in charge now.’”

While politicians continue to bicker over who does what, that doesn’t change the fact that winter is fast approaching and much of the city’s parks and green space continues to be covered in tents.

MacLeod said this back-and-forth and finger-pointing between the provincial and municipal governments “doesn’t play well” to the public, many of whom are struggling under the rising cost of living and are waiting on action from their elected officials.

“You want a solution, you want collaboration, you want to see something getting done,” he said.

“When you’re under stress and you’re having trouble putting a roof over your head and that sort of thing, those partisan issues and government intricacies probably are immensely frustrating.”

 

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