N.S. premier says some of Halifax’s new designated encampment sites are ‘completely nuts’

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says he is shocked by some of the locations Halifax council has chosen as designated sites for homeless encampments.

Houston told reporters after a cabinet meeting Thursday that he almost fell off his chair when he learned about some of the places the city wants to allow homeless people to set up tents.

“I thought it was completely nuts,” said Houston.

Earlier this week Halifax city hall approved nine new sites — seven on the Halifax peninsula and two across the harbour in Dartmouth — because existing encampments are overcapacity.

Houston said new sites like Point Pleasant Park and the Halifax Common are busy public areas and inappropriate for homeless encampments.

Mayor says city left to ‘plug holes in a broken system’

Halifax Mayor Mike Savage said the city is in a tough position because it isn’t responsible for files such as homelessness, mental health and addictions.

“We’re just left trying to plug holes in a broken system,” he told the CBC’s Haley Ryan.

Savage said some of the things the city is doing to address the homelessness crisis include establishing modular housing units and designating sites for tent encampments.

“We’re doing everything we can possibly do to keep people safe and to keep people in some kind of condition that provides a level of support that they need while they’re homeless,” he said. “This is not what we want to do, but this is what we have to do.”

The Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia says there are 1,326 homeless people in Halifax.

MORE TOP STORIES