The premier of Nova Scotia says the nine new tent sites council has picked for the Halifax Regional Municipality is shocking.
The new potential locations put forward by council Tuesday, are to help the ease pressure from encampments that are overcrowded.
Tim Houston tells reporters it’s hard to get his head around it.
“When I saw some of the sites that the HRM has designated, I almost fell off my chair. I thought it was completely nuts, some of the sites they were putting forward.”
He says the “standouts” are Point Pleasant Park and the Halifax Commons, two popular tourist attractions.
The others include:
- Bayers Road Windsor Street Park (Halifax).
- BiHi Park (Halifax).
- Chain Lake Park (Halifax).
- Cogswell Park (Halifax).
- Glebe Street Park (Halifax).
- Geary Street green space (Dartmouth).
- Bissett Road Park (Dartmouth).
Houston says they are working with HRM on over 40 possible sites for pallet villages, but they need to be mindful of the broader community.
“It’s just really hard to get the head around how the HRM council would think that these would be appropriate sites and the impact these would have on communities and Nova Scotians.”
The city is preparing a new, larger encampment for early fall at the corner of Bancroft Lane and Market Drive on Wrights Cove in Dartmouth.
Council plans on meeting again in November after the tiny homes community in Lower Sackville is expected to be up and running as well as pallet shelters.
There are currently over 1,300 people on the by name list looking for housing in Halifax.
