Opposition members call on the NS government to release its housing strategy

Opposition politicians are calling on the Nova Scotia government to disclose its housing strategy and explain how it intends to cope with a market that continues to see rising prices and increasing competition for a paper-thin supply.

Housing Secretary John Lohr had previously said the strategy would be released this past spring, a timetable that Treasury Secretary Allan MacMaster would make also mentioned during his budget speech in March.

But spring has come and gone and the strategy has yet to be released.

Meanwhile, the province continues to experience historic demand for all types of housing and rents in Halifax have increased faster than most Canadian cities. CHMC data shows Halifax’s vacancy rate remains around one percent and rents are up nine percent year-over-year.

NDP leader Claudia Chender said the government is ignoring the housing crisis and the fact that a growing number of people are struggling to pay their mortgages, find housing or stay in their homes.

Chender noted that the deputy housing minister recently said the province needs 70,000 new homes over the next five years to meet demand.

“That’s an unprecedented number,” she said.

“And we don’t see any indication that this government is taking that seriously.”

The situation is particularly difficult for seniors who have sold their homes to downsize, only to enter an increasingly expensive and competitive rental market, Chender said.

“This is a crisis. We can’t accommodate the people we have here in this county right now and we know there are so many more to come. The government needs to act immediately and transparently to tell us what they’re going to do about it. And instead it’s more delay and more secrecy.”

Liberal housing critic Braedon Clark said the issue is top of mind for Nova Scotians. Delaying the release of the strategy shows “a lack of commitment and action” on the housing dossier, he said.

“I don’t see the willpower, I don’t see the commitment, and I honestly don’t see the dollars to match the magnitude of the housing need.”

Prime Minister Tim Houston, Lohr and other members of government have repeatedly said that building more homes is the solution to the housing crisis. although the government has rejected calls to build more public housing, it has pursued projects making unused provincial land available for developers and non-profits to boost construction.

But Clark said trends are not reassuring at the moment, as housing starts in Nova Scotia are down 50 percent year over year.

“The stock isn’t there,” Clark said.

County says wildfires contributed to delay

While the government has extended the upper limit for rent increases for another two years, Clark pointed to a government decision earlier this year that is making things more difficult for people to qualify for rent allowance.

The Department of Municipal Affairs and Housing declined a CBC News interview request for Lohr.

A department spokesman attributed the delay in releasing the housing strategy to recent events.

“As you can appreciate, our energies have been focused on responding to recent wildfires, but work on the strategy continues and we are planning an announcement soon,” Krista Higdon said in an email.