The Call for Change: Time Celebrities Get off the Money Train and Achieve for Their People

HALIFAX – A loophole in Nova Scotia’s rental housing rules is making the provincial government’s proposed rent cap extension essentially useless, housing advocates and opposition parties say.

Last week, Service Nova Scotia Minister Colton LeBlanc tabled legislation that would extend the existing five per cent cap on rent increases for another two years to the end of 2027. But the province’s efforts won’t help renters so long as fixed-term leases are allowed, Tim Allenby, co-chair of the Dartmouth chapter of housing advocacy group ACORN, said Monday.

“The rent cap is already not ideal, given that five per cent is above inflation, so that’s not going to help the affordability problem. But then you throw on top of that this gaping canyon of a loophole,” he said about fixed-term leases.

A fixed-term lease, unlike a periodic lease, does not automatically renew beyond its set end date. The provincial rent cap covers periodic leases and situations in which a landlord signs a new fixed-term lease with the same tenant. But there is no rule preventing a landlord from raising the rent as much as they want after the term of a fixed lease expires — as long as they lease to someone new.

These rules discourage landlords from re-signing fixed-term leases, and instead incentivizes them to rent to someone new so they can raise the rent beyond the five per cent cap, Allenby said. The government’s regulation, meant to protect tenants, actually pushes more people toward homelessness as some renters are forced back into the tight housing market, he added.

“The Nova Scotia government could do something about this, and instead has chosen to do what is just a gesture, basically,” Allenby said.

Sydnee Blum, a community legal worker with Dalhousie Legal Aid, said it’s impossible to know exactly how many fixed-term leases are signed each year — such residential tenancy data is not tracked. But she said she has reason to believe the majority of renters who have signed new leases in the last several years are on fixed terms.

“We very rarely hear from tenants on periodic leases anymore,” Blum said in an interview Monday, adding that the use of fixed-term leases has “certainly exploded since the start of COVID.”

Allenby agrees, saying they seem to be the default lease type among people who share their experiences with ACORN.

In an emailed statement Monday, a Service Nova Scotia spokesperson said, “we understand the housing crisis is creating stress and worry for many Nova Scotians, including those on fixed-term leases.”

“The province will continue to monitor the rental environment in today’s tight market while we work to increase the housing supply,” Geoff Tobin said.

The statement said that while government doesn’t like to hear of cases where fixed-term leases are “being abused,” there are legitimate uses for them.

Braedon Clark, the Nova Scotia Liberal’s housing critic, said in an interview Monday, “the fundamental problem is you can’t have a rent cap system and fixed-term leases as they exist” because they will continue to be “used as a tool to circumvent the rent cap.”

“This is a huge problem with the system that government has done nothing about,” he said, adding that about a year ago he put forward legislation based on a model used in British Columbia that converts fixed-term leases to periodic leases at the end of their term, so long as both parties agree.

Nova Scotia NDP Leader Claudia Chender called the existing rent cap “fundamentally useless,” saying it does not help Nova Scotians struggling with the high cost of living. She said in order to prevent more people being pushed into homelessness, action must be taken to close the “fixed-term lease loophole.”

Chender said that because of fixed-term leases, “people are in the situation where they have to move every year, and they’re being priced out,” which is especially hurting young renters, seniors, and anyone on a fixed-income.

A solution, Chender said, is for the government to tie its rent cap rules to the housing unit rather than to the individual renter.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador’s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.

Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.

Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.

Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.

The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.

“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.

Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.

Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.

Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.

A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

FREDERICTON – A New Brunswick First Nation is calling for a “thorough investigation” after an RCMP officer fatally shot an Indigenous man during a recent wellness check.

The RCMP confirmed two officers were dispatched Sunday to the Elsipogtog First Nation where they confronted an armed man in mental distress in his home. The Mounties say the man refused to drop his weapon and would not co-operate with the officers.

The Serious Incident Response Team, which is investigating the shooting, said one of the officers used a stun gun to subdue the man, but that didn’t work. The second officer shot him with his gun, killing him, the agency said.

Ni’kmaq Notji Apogenmoet, a local Indigenous group that helps with wellness checks on the Elsipogtog First Nation, identified the victim as Iggy Dedam.

In a statement posted to social media, the First Nation said it was still gathering information.

“We are doing everything in our power to ensure that a thorough investigation is conducted and that proper justice is served,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, New Brunswick Liberal Leader Susan Holt said in a social media post that she found it “inexplicable” that a wellness check ended with a man being killed.

“My heart is breaking for the family of Steve ‘Iggy’ Dedam and the community of Elsipogtog,” she said. “It’s clear that mental health supports in this province are broken.”

A spokesman for the province’s governing Progressive Conservative party declined comment.

Jaris Swidrovich, an assistant professor and Indigenous engagement lead in the Leslie Dan faculty of pharmacy at the University of Toronto, said police are usually called for wellness checks because they are often the only first responders available to address urgent concerns about a person’s safety and well-being.

People have been “socialized” to involve police when something appears wrong because of their immediate availability and their roles as community caretakers, he added. As well, police have the legal authority to enter a property without a warrant if they believe someone is in immediate danger, he said.

“And often, folks are not even aware of other alternatives,” Swidrovich said.

A report on systemic racism in policing, compiled in 2021 for the federal standing committee on public safety, found police training on de-escalation is “critical” when officers respond to wellness checks.

The report also found that many police services insist that officers must by the first to respond to a mental health crisis or request for a wellness check, even when a mental-health worker is available and there is no known safety threat.

“This often further escalates the situation and has resulted in numerous fatalities, severe injuries and trauma,” the report said. The report recommends that mental health professionals should be “empowered” to be first responders whenever possible, while still being supported by police.

Swidrovich agreed, adding police officers often lack specialized training to properly handle mental health crises, and racist attitudes among some officers can make matters worse.

“Sometimes that bias can result in more aggressive responses, which is certainly backed up by research,” he said.

Ni’kmaq Notji Apogenmoet, which describes itself as an Indigenous watch group for the Elsipogtog First Nation, said it has a 2023 letter from the RCMP confirming the police force will work with the group during wellness checks.

The group confirmed on social media that it received a call for help at 11:40 p.m. on Sunday.

“Unfortunately for our team who received the call, the dire chain of events that took the life of our community member had transpired, and instead the team had to do their best to manage scene,” the group said.

The RCMP said it could not comment on what happened while the Serious Incident Response Team was investigating.

Meanwhile, provincial Green party member Kevin Arseneau said Indigenous leaders in New Brunswick have repeatedly called for an Indigenous-led inquiry into system racism in the province. The provincial government has rejected the request.

“We have a colonial mindset when it comes to the justice and policing system,” said Arseneau, who represents the district of Kent North, which includes the Elsipogtog First Nation.

“What needs to happen is that we finally listen to Indigenous people.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.